Beauty and the Beast
by jellykitty
Summary: Kayla Baxter is new to Hogwarts. Will the Marauder's show her a good time? What will Kayla's reaction be when she finds out their little secret?
1. Chapter 1

Beauty and the Beast

Chapter 1

Kayla lay awake in bed thinking about what was to be the next day's events. It was her first day at a new school. For the past five years she had been attending the top school in America for the study of witchcraft and wizardry. That's right. Kayla was a witch, and she was exceptionally talented. Tomorrow, however, Kayla would be attending her school's sister school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in England. She was born in England to a family of purebloods. In fact, they were some of the most well known purebloods in the wizarding world, the Baxters. Her family had moved to America before her first year in school on orders from the Ministry of Magic. Kayla's father worked for the Ministry and had been relocated to Virginia for reasons unknown to the rest of the family, as Kayla's father was under strict orders from the Ministry not to tell what he was working on.

Kayla remembered very little of England, except that she missed it terribly and she knew that it couldn't be any worse than where she was. For the first two years at school, all the kids teased her about her accent. She soon got tired of it and learned to hide it while at school. The moment she learned to speak with an American accent, she was the most popular girl in school. She was smart, funny, and incredibly beautiful. She had a perfect complexion. Her skin was slightly tanned and her hair was deep brown. It was long and wavy and ended in soft, natural curls in the center of her back. Her eyes, the purest shade of green anyone had ever seen. Despite her looks and charm, Kayla had never dated. She was completely engulfed in her studies, not wanting to disappoint her parents who graduated from Hogwarts at the top of their class. She simply had no time for boys; not that she wasn't asked out by every boy in her year. Incredibly enough, even with the entire male populations' desire to go out with Kayla, she was not the envy of the school. In fact, all the girls looked to her to hook them up with the guys of their dreams that asked her out. Kayla wondered if she would maintain the same reputation at this new school.

Kayla rolled over in bed and stared out her window. She saw a tawny owl swoop down to the kitchen window. _Mum or Dad must have gotten a letter. I wonder who it's from._ She thought to herself. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and rolled back over onto her back as she saw her mother climbing the stairs.

"Mum, who got a letter?" Kayla asked in her thick British accent.

"Your father. It was from the Potters, friends of your father's. Since we're getting to England a day before our belongings, they said we could stay with them. You know, they have a son about your age." Her mother said with a grin and a wink. Kayla giggled and rolled her eyes.

"Thanks Mum. I'm sure he's a real nice boy. Can't wait to meet him." She said with as much sarcasm as she could muster. Mrs. Baxter laughed.

"Good night, Kiki. See you in the morning." Mrs. Baxter blew her daughter a kiss and shut her door. Kiki. Kayla wasn't sure how she felt about her nickname. It was cute, but she hoped with all her heart that her parents wouldn't use it in public. They gave it to her because when she was little, she couldn't say her own name right and that's what always came out. It just sort of stuck. Kayla rolled back over onto her side and stared out her window. _A boy. Mum graduated at the top of her class; shouldn't she understand my lack of desire to have a boyfriend? I'm sure she didn't have one in school. She and Dad hooked up after school; too much of a distraction._ And with that last thought and the thought of what this Potter boy looked like, Kayla drifted off into a deep sleep full of dreams of what her new school might be like.

Kayla awoke early the next morning, her anticipation keeping her from sleeping any longer. Her mother and father were already up, showered, fed, and looking around their almost empty house one last time before they left. Kayla got out of bed and took the clothes she had set out for herself the night before, went to the bathroom and took a quick shower. She climbed down the carpeted staircase to the front hall and into the kitchen. Her mother and father were sitting on two folding chairs that had been left there from the people who owned the house before they moved in.

"Morning, Kiks. Hungry?" her father asked. Kayla shook her head and sat in her father's lap. Kayla had never been one for breakfast. If she ate anything at all, it was a piece of toast lightly buttered. "Ready to go to your new school?" Kayla nodded.

"How am I getting there?" Kayla asked.

"Your father got permission from the Ministry to use a certain spell on you to transport you from here to the Potter's home. Dad and I will apparate there as soon as we know you've arrived safely. You'll go to the Kings Cross Station with the Potters." Kayla gave her mom a skeptical look.

"Mum, this isn't another attempt to get me to start dating, is it? I'm too busy with school to date." Mrs. Baxter laughed.

"Too busy…Kiki, darling, you're the brightest girl in your year, wise beyond your years. Give in, Kayla. I was dating at your age. Give it a try. If it starts to affect your studies, give it up. Who knows, maybe you'll find someone who's as much of a bookworm as you are." Kayla laughed and shook her head.

"Discuss boy troubles later, girls. We've got to get to the Potters before they start to worry." Mr. Baxter got up off his chair, pushing Kayla onto her feet as he did so. "You're all packed, right?" Mr. Baxter asked her daughter. Kayla nodded. "Alright then, this won't hurt a bit." Mr. Baxter approached Kayla, his wand out. He tapped the top of her head and mumbled a spell. Kayla felt her whole body begin to tingle. She looked down at her hands and saw that bit-by-bit she was beginning to disappear. Her heart began to pound, more with anticipation than fear, as she was unsure of what was going to happen. As soon as she could no longer see her own feet, she felt a tug behind where her navel would have been. She soon had a rushing sensation. She shut her eyes tightly, now becoming very afraid of what was happening to her. She knelt down and grabbed her knees. She stayed huddled there, unaware of the fact that the rushing feeling was gone and the tingling feeling had returned as her body became visible again. She felt a tap on her shoulder.

"You can open your eyes now, dear. You've arrived." Kayla slowly lifted her head as she heard the soothing female voice. She opened one eye and timidly looked around the room. She opened both eyes and stood up as she realized that she was in a highly decorated living room. Who ever owned this house was obviously very rich. "Welcome to our home, Kayla! It's wonderful to see you again." Said the woman. Kayla spun around and found herself face to face with a woman with raven black hair and brown eyes. Kayla gave the woman a timid, yet polite smile.

"Have we met before?" Kayla asked curiously, a little disturbed by the woman's comment. The woman smiled.

"Why of course we have! I'm Mrs. Potter. I've known your family since before you were born. Your parents and my husband and I were all in the same year and house at Hogwarts." The woman said with a broad smile.

"Oh." Was all Kayla could think to get out. She still was not sure of how to react to her surroundings. Just then four young boys, who all looked to be around Kayla's age walked into the room talking and laughing loudly. They all stopped, though, when their eyes fell on Kayla. "Oh good, just in time. Boys, I'd like for you to meet Kayla Baxter. Her family will be staying with us until their home is ready. Kayla, I'd like you to meet James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter." The four boys smiled and waved at Kayla, who waved back, though not returning the smile.

"Are they all yours?" Kayla asked Mrs. Potter. She shook her head and laughed.

"Merlin's beard, no! Though, it does feel like I've raised four boys as apposed to one. No, James is my one and only. In fact, I believe you two have met once." Kayla raised an eyebrow and looked back at the four boys. One of the four, who had the same raven black hair as Mrs. Potter and glasses, looked at Mrs. Potter.

"We have?" he asked, sounding as confused as Kayla looked.

"Yes, of course. Though you both were very young so I don't expect either of you to remember. James, go and tell your father to owl Mr. and Mrs. Baxter and let them know that Kayla has arrived safely. You three come and introduce yourselves. You should be seeing a lot of each other at school I expect." Mrs. Potter beckoned the three remaining boys over, retaining her same broad smile. One of the three boys, a tall one with longer black hair lead the group over to Kayla, a cheeky grin playing across his lips.

"Sirius Black, pleasure to meet you. I hope you get Gryffindor, we could use a few more attractive girls such as yourself." He said taking Kayla's hand and shaking it. Kayla rolled her eyes. Sirius let go of her hand and stepped aside. The next boy stepped up. He had sandy blonde hair and amber eyes. _Ooo, he's cute!_ Kayla thought to herself as she took the boy's hand.

"I'm Remus Lupin. Forgive Sirius, he has no manners at all." Remus said with a charming smile. Kayla returned the smile for the first time.

"Oh, that's alright. I'm used to it." She said, glancing over at Sirius, who was glaring at Remus.

"C-can I have my hand back now?" Remus asked with a slight chuckle. Kayla looked back at Remus and her eyebrows raised. She was still shaking Remus' hand. Kayla gave a soft giggle and let go. She looked down at her feet, hoping to hide her blushing face.

"Sorry." She said softly. Remus gave a soft laugh and stepped aside allowing the third and final boy to step forward. Kayla gave a quick look of shock before hiding it with her polite smile. The boy that stood in front of her looked nothing like the other three. Where Remus, Sirius and James were tall and thin and muscular, this boy was shorter and pudgier. He had a blonde bowl cut for hair and beady, water, black eyes. The boy seemed very out of place against the other three.

"I'm Peter Pettigrew." The boy said in a small, squeaky voice. Kayla tried to retain her polite smile while trying to hide her shock and slight disgust.

"Nice to meet you, Peter." Kayla tried to choke back a giggle. James came back into the room, followed by his father.

"Did you send the owl, dear?" Mrs. Potter asked her husband. Mr. Potter nodded. "Good, James, why don't you introduce yourself?" Mrs. Potter suggested. James shrugged and walked up to Kayla, arm extended.

"James Potter, nice to meet you." he said. Kayla shook his hand and smiled politely at him.

"Well then, now that we're all introduced, I say we get something for you five to eat before we head off for the platform." Mrs. Potter started for the kitchen. James and Sirius grinned and eagerly followed. Peter quickly scampered up behind them. Kayla quickly became aware of Peter's role as lost puppy in the group. Remus, however, stayed back and walked with Kayla to the kitchen.

"What would you like to eat?" Mrs. Potter asked Kayla as she and Remus entered the kitchen. James, Sirius, and Peter were already seated at the table, shoveling hefty amounts of food into their mouths.

"Um…Just a slice of toast, please." Kayla said softly. She didn't know why she was being so shy. It wasn't like her at all. Mrs. Potter looked at Kayla as if she were waiting for there to be more to her request.

"Just one slice?" she asked. Kayla nodded.

"I'm not much of a breakfast person." She added, taking a seat across from the boys. Mrs. Potter sighed and shrugged.

"What would you like, dear?" she asked Remus as he took a seat next to Sirius and directly across from Kayla.

"Eggs would be great." He said. Mrs. Potter nodded and set to work ordering the house elves to fix the two meals. Just as the group had finished eating, there was a loud popping sound coming from the entry hall, followed shortly by a softer, more high pitched popping.

"Oh, good. Kayla, that must be your parents." Mr. and Mrs. Baxter got up from the table and headed for the entry hall. Kayla shortly followed suit, eager to see some familiar faces. She entered the entry hall and found her mother and father greeting Mr. and Mrs. Potter with smiles and hearty handshakes.

"Mum! Dad!" Kayla exclaimed. With a huge grin, she swiftly walked up to her parents and embraced them both in a tight hug. "You never said there would be _four_ boys!" she hissed into their ears. Her parents smiled apologetically.

"Shouldn't it be about time to go to the platform?" Mr. Baxter asked. James' parents both dawned looks of realization as they noted the time.

"Merlin's beard! We're going to be late! Everyone, grab your trunks and let's head out!" Mr. Potter ordered.

"Trunk? I don't have a trunk." Kayla said.

"Of course you do, dear. It's in your parents' room. James, why don't you go show her where it is." Mrs. Potter suggested.

"I'll take her." Remus jumped at the chance. James and Sirius exchanged glances regarding their friend's behavior, but ignored it. Kayla and Remus made their way down a long hallway full of doors. "So, you're from America?" Remus asked, sort of unsure what to say. Kayla watched her feet as she walked.

"No, I'm originally from London, but my father was relocated to Virginia on the Ministry's orders. I only lived there for five years." Kayla explained.

"Oh, so that would explain why you don't have an American accent." Remus commented. Kayla grinned.

"I could have one if I wanted, I just prefer my British roots." She said in the thickest American accent Remus had ever heard.

"So you do have an accent." He said.

"It's fake. It was either learning to talk like an American, or be made fun of for being different." Kayla said.

"Why would you want to be the same as everyone else? Why not stand out in the crowd?" Remus asked, now looking at Kayla.

"You obviously don't know what it's like being the only one of your kind in the school. Sometimes it's just better to conform to everyone else's idea of normal than try and stand out." Kayla said. Remus stared at Kayla in silence for a few long moments, then looked down at his feet. "Are we there yet?" the two stopped walking and realized that they had gone almost the full length of the hallway.

"To be honest…I have no idea where the room is." He said. Kayla looked at Remus annoyed and turned to the first door she saw and opened it. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Figuring out which room belongs to my parents. Why would you volunteer to show me the room if you didn't know where it was?" Kayla asked, her aggravation evident in her voice. Remus tried to think of a decent answer, but was unable to as Kayla found the right door. "Oh, here it is." She said. She walked in and found a large trunk at the foot of the king sized bed. Kayla opened it and found it filled with her clothes, books for school, and her uniform, which held the Hogwarts crest. She closed it and stood up. She took a deep breath and bent back over in an attempt to pick up the large, heavy trunk. She got it about an inch off the floor, before the fear of popping a vein in her head became too much to bear. With a grunt and a huff a breath, Kayla dropped the trunk back onto the floor and crumpled into a heap on top of it. Remus laughed.

"Here, let me help you." he said, offering Kayla his hand to help her up. She took it and stood up off of the trunk. Remus stepped in front of her and bent down to lift the trunk up. He hoisted it up with little trouble and carried it to the door. Kayla ran after him back into the entrance hall. Remus got there before Kayla did and dropped the trunk next to everyone else's and rejoined the group. Kayla walked up beside him.

"Thanks." She said. Remus smiled and Kayla swore her heart skipped a beat.

"My pleasure." They smiled at each other for a few moments. James and Sirius watched them and exchanged knowing looks, having seen this look in Remus' eyes only once before, but nonetheless knowing what it was. Mr. Baxter saw the look on his daughter's face and began to feel slightly uneasy. He cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"We should probably be heading out. Don't want these five missing the train." The other adults agreeing, they nodded and ushered the five out the door. Outside waiting were two cars.

"Right. Adults in the back car, kids in the front." Mr. Potter announced. Kayla leaned over toward her mother and whispered in her ear.

"I have to ride all the way to the train station with these four? And the train to Hogwarts? Can't I ride with you?" Kayla asked. Mrs. Baxter glanced over her daughter's shoulder at the four laughing boys.

"What's wrong with them, Kiki? I think they are quite the attractive ones." Kayla rolled her eyes and huffed.

"I can tell already that Black and Potter are arrogant prats, Black's already tried to hit on me once since we've been here. Peter just plain old gives me the creeps." Mrs. Baxter chuckled.

"And what about the other one?" Kayla's eyes widened momentarily as she realized she had forgotten to mention anything about Remus.

"Well…he, erm…uh…" Kayla racked her brain to find something to complain about Remus, but was finding it very difficult. "Well, he's not that bright." Mrs. Baxter raised an eyebrow interestedly. She glanced back over Kayla's shoulder at the four boys, who had heard their names being mentioned and were now paying attention. "He's not. He offered to show me to my trunk but didn't even know where he was going. How dense can you get?" she asked, not even completely convinced of her own argument. Mrs. Baxter laughed.

"You'll be fine, sweetie. It's only until we get to the train station. Once you're on the Express, you can get a compartment without them. Your father, the Potters and I have some things to discuss. We need all of you to be in a separate car. I promise, nothing bad will happen. They're good boys." Kayla gave her mother a 'How do you know?' look, but left the question unspoken. She sighed and turned back to the boys. James and Sirius were whispering things to each other, stealing the occasional glance at Kayla, which made her very uncomfortable. Peter looked timid and darted his eyes between Kayla and his three friends. Remus glanced at Sirius and James, which they returned with looks of innocence. Remus rolled his eyes and looked at Kayla with a quizzical and somewhat hurt look. Kayla gave him a half grin and headed toward the car. Kayla slid in to the other side of the car and stared out the window. Shortly after she had seated herself in the car, the door opened again and the four boys piled in. James, Sirius, and Peter filled the seats in front of Kayla, leaving the only available spot for Remus next to Kayla. Kayla sighed and took to staring out the window for the whole car ride, not chancing a glance at any of the boys.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The cars pulled up to the station. Kayla was slightly confused; the station looked no different than any other train station she'd ever been to. She waited for Remus to get out of the car and then slid out herself. She stood beside the car, waiting for someone else to take the lead.

"Lost?" asked James. Kayla turned to look at him.

"No, I know exactly where I am. I just don't know where I'm going." Said Kayla.

"Why don't you ask Remus to show you the way?" Said Sirius, who walked past Kayla pushing a cart with two trunks on it.

"Better not, Padfoot. I'm not that bright, might get us lost." Said Remus as he walked past Kayla, also pushing a cart with two trunks on it. Remus glanced back to see the reaction his comment had caused. Kayla sighed and looked back at him apologetically. _How could you feel this bad about it? You don't even know him._ Kayla thought to herself. Mrs. Potter walked up beside her with a cart with Kayla's trunk on it.

"Better hurry up, dear. Follow the boys, they'll show you to the barrier." Kayla nodded and looked back at her parents who were both beaming with pride. Kayla gave both her parents tight hugs and a kiss and said her good-byes before turning to follow the four boys to the barrier. She caught up with them just as James was taking a running start toward a brick wall. Kayla watched as James ran full tilt into the wall and went right through it. Kayla watched as both Sirius and Peter did the same thing in mild shock. She walked up and stood next to Remus just as Peter had disappeared through the barrier.

"You're next." Kayla said to Remus. Remus shook his head.

"Ladies first." He said softly. Kayla shrugged and backed a few feet away from the wall.

"So, do I just run at it, or do I have to do something?" she asked.

"Just run at it." Remus answered, little tone to his voice.

"Are you sure?" she asked. Remus rolled his eyes.

"Would you stop insulting my intelligence?! Just go!" he nearly yelled at her. Kayla huffed and ran full tilt toward the wall. She saw the front of her cart go through the barrier, but shut her eyes tightly when she was just centimeters from crashing into the brick wall. She opened them when her cart ran into something hard.

Kayla looked up and realized she had rammed right into someone else's cart. She looked up at the tall boy with long platinum blond hair. The boy looked menacing, his eyes stared coldly at her and his mouth formed a frown as he glared at her.

"Watch where you're going." He said in an icy tone. Kayla's mouth opened and shut repeatedly as she searched for something to say in response. Before she was able to think of something, someone ran into her from behind. Her cart ran into the other boy's for a second time. Kayla spun around to see who had run into her.

"What are you doing blocking the way?" Remus asked her. Kayla opened her mouth to respond and pointed at the tall blonde behind her, but was yet again unable to respond.

"Friend of yours, Lupin?" The boy asked. Remus looked coldly at the boy and then back at Kayla.

"Oh. Hello, Malfoy." Remus said coldly, glaring at the tall blond. "No, we just met. What's the hold up?" Remus asked Kayla again. Kayla straightened herself up with some regained confidence and pointed back at the boy.

"He was in my way coming through the barrier. You should be asking him." She said. Remus looked at Malfoy inquiringly. The boy stood glaring at Kayla with immense hatred.

"I am not the problem, here. You ran into me with your cart. Take responsibility for your actions, mudblood." Malfoy said. Kayla's eyes widened. Remus looked offended.

"What makes you think she's a mudblood?" he asked. _Why is he standing up for me_? Kayla thought. The boy laughed.

"Only a mudblood could be this moronic. To think, blaming this all on me." The boy said as if it was the most impossible idea ever.

"Look, she's-" Remus began, but was cut off by Kayla.

"How dare you! I am NOT mudblood. And as far as blaming this on you, this is as much your fault as it is mine! You were blocking the barrier when I came through. Don't ever say anything like that to me ever again or else I will put a curse on you so that you will never be able to reproduce! Which wouldn't be such a bad idea, it would rid the world of your bloodline. And for your information, I happen to be a pureblood. Don't make assumptions, you're likely to make an ass out of yourself." The boy's jaw clenched and his eyes became more menacing than ever. He searched his robes for his wand. Just as he pulled it out, Remus jumped in front of Kayla and pulled out his own wand.

"Put it away." He said with a deadly calm. The two boys glared at each other with such disdain for one another. Malfoy sighed and lowered his wand.

"As if I'd waste any of my energy hexing people like you, Lupin. Menaces to society, all of you." The boy said as he pushed his cart off toward the train and boarded. Remus sighed and put his wand away.

"What did he mean 'people like you'?" Kayla asked as they headed for the train. Remus shook his head.

"Nothing. Go find yourself a compartment, find me when we get to Hogsmeade station and I'll show you where you need to go." Remus said. He headed off down the corridor and through to the next car, leaving Kayla to fend for herself. _Good job, Kayla…you haven't even gotten to school yet and you've already made an enemy and hurt someone's feelings._ Kayla scolded herself. She sighed and headed off to find an empty compartment. She made it to the final car and found that none of the compartments were empty, and most had no room for another person, except for one. She argued with herself about going in for several minutes before finally sliding the door open and poking her head inside.

"No more compartments, mind if we share?" she asked the four boys inside.

"Sure, pull up a seat." Said Sirius. Kayla half smiled and walked in. She took a seat beside the window and one seat away from Sirius. James and Peter were sitting across from her and over next to the door. They were arguing about food and money.

"We only have so much money, Wormtail. We're not going to waste it on Licorice Wands!" James said. Peter rolled his eyes.

"You don't have to waste your money on them. I happen to like them and can buy them if I want to." Peter argued back.

"Merlin, Peter! We do this every year! Pool our money and buy a lot of everything, except for Licorice Wands. Face it, Wormtail, you're the only one that likes them." James argued, attempting to take the money from Peter. Peter snatched his hand back.

"Well I'm not pooling this year, then. I want my Licorice Wands and I'm going to buy them. What makes you so sure you can stop me?" he said weakly.

"Maybe the fact that I'm bigger, older, and stronger than you. And if you don't hand over the money, I will tell everyone in the Great Hall during the start of term feast about that one thing you did over the holidays." James threatened. Peter handed over his money, defeat written across his face. Remus, who had been searching for something in a bag in the overhead sat down next to Kayla, not entirely paying attention to the fact that she was there. He had a book in his hands and promptly opened and started reading. Kayla glanced around the compartment and noticed Peter's eyes watching her closely from his seat next to James. This made Kayla very uncomfortable. She shifted in her seat and rested her head against the window.

Kayla could feel Peter's eyes on her the whole way. About half way there, a lady stopped by their compartment with a cart full of food. James offered her his money.

"A lot of everything, please." He said. Kayla glanced at Peter, who saw her looking at him and looked away.

"Would you like anything, Miss?" the lady asked Kayla. Kayla nodded and pulled out some money from her pocket.

"Pumpkin Juice and some Licorice Wands." Kayla said, handing the woman her money. The lady handed over the food and left. James tossed cakes, candy, and pasties across to Sirius and Remus.

"C-can I have a Wand?" Peter asked timidly. Kayla shrugged.

"Sure, you can have the whole lot of them, disgusting candies, if you ask me. But only if you promise me something." She said. Peter looked frightened; Kayla had no earthly idea why.

"What?" he asked softly.

"Stop staring at me, it's giving me the creeps." She said, tossing him the bag of Licorice Wands. James, Sirius, and Remus all chuckled. Peter turned at fiery shade of red and picked the bag of candy up, having missed the catch and dropped it on the floor.

A little while later, the compartment door slid open again as James stuck his head out into the corridor.

"Evans!" he called to a red headed girl a few doors down. He beckoned her to the compartment. The girl entered, looking as if this was the last place she wanted to be.

"What do you want, Potter?" she asked. James smirked at her.

"Just to be graced with your presence." He said. Evans rolled her eyes. She then saw Kayla for the first time.

"Hi. I'm Lily." She said in a half polite half utterly confused tone.

"Kayla, nice to meet you." Kayla said smiling at her.

"So, um…do you actually like sitting with these guys?" Lily asked. Kayla chuckled and shook her head.

"I didn't know anyone else." Kayla said. Lily smiled.

"Why don't you come sit with me and some of my friends. We'd be glad to have you." she said. Kayla smiled and stood up, grabbing her bag off the overhead rack.

"G'bye, gorgeous." Sirius said as Kayla walked out the door. Kayla whipped around on the spot.

"Gorgeous?" Kayla asked. Sirius grinned and nodded. "I don't even know you, so why don't you get off your high horse and not hit on me thinking that complimenting my looks at every waking moment is going to win my heart."

"But you are gorgeous!" Sirius said, trying to sound as if what she was saying was cutting him real deep. Kayla's expression softened and she took a breath, trying to make it sound difficult. She reached her hand up to her chest and made as if she were about to faint.

"He thinks I'm gorgeous! Be still my beating heart!" Kayla regained her composure and stood up and cocked an eyebrow at Sirius and left the compartment with Lily. James and Remus laughed. Kayla followed Lily to her compartment. Lily was laughing the whole way.

"That was brilliant! I think we're going to get on just fine." Kayla smiled.

"Well, in America I got that a lot. After awhile you learn to build up your fences." Lily laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, tell me about it. I've had Potter chasing after me for years. I can't stand the arrogant prat. He thinks I'm some prize to be won, or one of his little fan girls. Just because you're good at Quidditch and have looks to kill doesn't mean that you've won my heart." Kayla laughed.

"Tell me about it! So should I expect this from them for the rest of the year?" Kayla asked. Lily shrugged.

"That all depends on if Sirius was just flirting with you because you're the new girl, or if he's really interested in dating you…because you're the new girl." Kayla sighed.

"The joys of being the new girl…what about the others?" she asked.

"Potter is to infatuated with me. It's been that way for near two years now. He hasn't had but one girlfriend since he 'fell in love with me' in third year. Peter…well, he's Peter. He doesn't take the initiative, he does the staring thing."

"So I've noticed." Kayla mumbled. Lily chuckled.

"And Remus…he's got a shy way about him. He's not as arrogant as the other two, but he's not their friend for nothing. He might not be as up front about things as they are, but he'll get you when you least expect it. Happened to one of my friends last year. He hadn't said a word to her all year and then one day asked her out. They broke up a month later, not really sure why. Potter and Black probably got to him or something." Lily shrugged. They reached the compartment and Lily slid the door open. "Ladies, this is Kayla. Kayla this is Maggie and Jocelyn, we call her Josie." Kayla waved at the two girls and took a seat next to Jocelyn.

"Welcome to the Hogwarts Express, Kayla. What do you think of it so far?" Maggie asked. Kayla shrugged.

"It's alright I guess…" Kayla said uncertainly. Josie looked at her confused.

"Alright? What do you mean 'alright'?" she asked.

"Kayla hasn't been able to experience it yet. She's been riding with the Marauders the whole way. Not a very good first impression." Maggie and Josie nodded and looked apologetically at Kayla.

"How'd they manage that?" Josie asked.

"My parents are friends of the Potters and are staying at their place until my home is ready to be moved into. I rode to the station with them and I didn't know anyone else and there wasn't another empty compartment, so I just sat with them. Why do you call them the Marauders?" Kayla asked. Lily laughed.

"It's just some name they came up with to make their little gang seem cooler. They're the school pranksters." Lily said.

"And the ladies men." Josie said, a dreamy expression coming across her face. Lily took on a look of disgust.

"Josie! Take that back!" she said playfully.

"What?! I can't help it if Black is sexy. I am human, you know?" Maggie and Lily rolled their eyes. Josie sighed. "What about you, Kayla? Someone has to be on my side." Kayla laughed and shrugged.

"They're alright, I suppose…" Josie laughed.

"We need to teach you some new adjectives. Don't you think they're gorgeous?" Josie asked. Kayla laughed.

"What is it with everyone and thinking people are gorgeous? I guess so…except for that Peter kid…He gives me the creeps. Stared at me the whole bloody time." The other three girls laughed.

"She's discovered Peter. Poor thing. Looks like Peter's got a new crush this year." Maggie said with a laugh.

"Let's hope so. The boy needs to start staring at someone else for a change. Damn near bore holes through me all last year." Josie said.

"Ugh, so you mean he'll do that to me all year if he likes me?" Kayla asked. The three nodded. "That's just great." Kayla said sarcastically. The three laughed.

"No other opinion on them?" Josie pushed. Kayla shrugged.

"Well…Sirius is arrogant, James seemed pretty quiet to me, but I'm sure he's just as bad as Sirius, and Remus…" Kayla trailed off, trying to decide what exactly she felt about Remus.

"Ooo this could be good." Josie said, leaning forward a little and focusing her attention on Kayla. Kayla laughed.

"I guess he's cute. I don't think he likes me much, though." Kayla said.

"What makes you say that?" Maggie asked.

"I told Mum he wasn't the brightest right within ear shot of him…I didn't mean it, I was just trying to convince her to let me ride in their car with my parents and James' parents instead of in a car alone with those four. Now he just gets an attitude with me whenever I question him." Kayla stared down at her feet.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. He's the bookworm of the group, so calling him stupid wasn't the smartest thing to do." Kayla laughed at the irony. The four girls spent the rest of the time getting to know Kayla better. The train arrived at Hogsmeade Station. There was a rush of students as everyone hurried off the train. There was a very large, tall man with a full, bushy beard calling for first years to follow him. Kayla didn't know where to go and thought of what Remus had told her to do.

"Kayla, come on, we need to get a carriage." Called Lily. Kayla hurried up to meet them. She caught up with them and found the three other girls walking toward carriages. Kayla grimaced slightly as the eerie carriages drew closer to her in the darkness. She climbed onto the carriage she had seen the other girls climb into.

"What's pulling these things?" Kayla asked, taking a seat next to Lily.

"Thestrals. You can't see them, though. Not unless you've seen someone die." Kayla nodded her understanding as the carriage began to pull away from the station. The girls talked and joked all the way up to the castle. Lily stuck her head out just before they arrived. "Kayla, check out your new home." Kayla stuck her head out the window and stared at the large castle drawing closer.

"Wow. My old school looked nothing like this." Kayla said in awe.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. You're going to love it here." Maggie said, patting Kayla on the back.

The four girls entered the school and followed the rest of the students to the Great Hall. The girls stood outside, waiting for the doors to open when Kayla felt a tap on her back. She turned around.

"I thought I told you to meet me." Remus said. Kayla smiled apologetically.

"I'm sorry, Remus. Lily showed me where to go, though." Kayla said, motioning to the fiery red head behind her.

"All the better, I guess. Wouldn't have wanted to get you lost." Remus snapped back. He turned to walk away, but Kayla grabbed his arm and he turned back around.

"Remus, I'm sorry I said that. You weren't meant to hear it and I really didn't mean it. It was just something to say. I don't really think you're stupid." Kayla apologized. Remus half smiled at her.

"S'alright. I don't know you well enough for it to have really hurt me." Kayla knew better. No one would react that way if what was said didn't really hurt them. She let go of his arm and he walked away to meet the rest of the Marauders. Kayla sighed and turned back around to rejoin the group.

"Ms. Baxter!" she heard an older woman call her. Kayla looked up and saw a tall, older woman with her graying hair pulled back into a tight bun and a pointed face walking up to the group.

"Oh good. I'm glad to see Ms. Evans took the liberty to show you your way. Now if you'll come with me, I'll take you to get sorted before the first years arrive." Kayla followed the witch away, glancing back at her new friends. She was becoming nervous, not at all sure of what sorting meant or what she would have to do. Kayla followed the woman through a door where there was a stool in the middle of a dimly lit room.

"Please take a seat, Ms. Baxter." Kayla sat down uncomfortably on the stool. She looked around the nearly empty room. At one end were two couches facing each other. At the other was a lit fireplace, providing the only light for the room. The room was fairly small, large enough for twenty people at a time at most.

"Is this going to be a test?" Kayla asked. The old witch laughed slightly, taking Kayla by surprise as the woman hadn't cracked a smile the whole time and didn't seem to be the kind with a sense of humor.

"Of course not, dear. Just clear your mind. The hat will tell you all you need to know." _Hat?!_ Kayla thought to herself. As if to answer her question, the witch came back up holding a ratty old hat with a huge tear above the rim. She placed the oversized hat on Kayla's head. The tear in the rim opened and the hat called out

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Did the hat just talk to me?!" Kayla asked. The woman laughed again.

"Yes. It's the sorting hat. It decides what house you are to be placed in. It's placed you in Gryffindor, the house of which I am the head. My name is Professor McGonagall. I reside over all matters concerning students in Gryffindor. I am also the Deputy Headmistress. I aid the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, in matters concerning the school. You can come to me if you have any problems whatsoever. I am also going to be your new Transfiguration professor. You will get your schedule tomorrow at breakfast. Now, if you'll rejoin your friends in the Great Hall, the first year sorting will begin and Professor Dumbledore will give his start of term speech, and then the feast will begin. The rest will be explained after dinner." Kayla got up and left the room, thanking Professor McGonagall as she left.

Kayla entered the Great Hall and looked around in awe. Lit candles floated above her underneath a ceiling, which was bewitched to look like the night sky. Underneath were four long tables, going the length of the hall. Above each table was a flag bearing the colors, symbol, and name of each house. Kayla found the red and gold flag bearing a lion. Underneath it read "Gryffindor" in bright gold, curling letters. She headed over to the table and glanced around for Lily, knowing her hair would be the easiest to spot. She found her sitting near the middle and headed toward her.

"Gryffindor?" Lily asked when Kayla sat down next to her. Kayla beamed and nodded. "That's great!" Lily hugged Kayla. "Welcome to the house of bravery. I wonder who Dumbledore has you roomed with. Our roommate transferred last term, so maybe he'll put you with us." Kayla smiled and looked around.

"Where's Maggie?" she asked.

"Oh, Mags is in Hufflepuff. She's over there with her boyfriend, Amos." Josie said.

"Oh." Kayla said. The hall was silenced as the door to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall entered with the stool and hat that Kayla had just occupied. She walked to the front of the Hall in the middle isle between the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables. She placed the stool in front of the long staff table. McGonagall stood to the side of the stool and pulled out a long scroll, holding the hat high above the chair. The door to the Great Hall opened again as a long line of timid and scared looking first years entered and lined up at the bottom of the steps leading to the staff table. One by one McGonagall called out the names of the first years, placing the hat on their heads and sending them off to their tables.

A little ways down from Kayla, near the staff table sat the Marauders. James glanced down the table looking for Lily. He grinned and prodded Remus.

"Look who's joined the ranks." He said. Remus looked down and saw Kayla sitting with Lily and Josie.

"Oh bloody hell… This is going to be some year." He groaned. Once the first years had all been sorted and taken their seats at the house tables, McGonagall took the stool and hat through a door behind the staff table and re-entered the Hall. Once she had taken her seat at the table, a tall thin man with a long white beard stood up and called the room to silence. All attention turned to the man, who Kayla assumed was Professor Dumbledore.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. Welcome to your first years to those who have not attended this school before." Kayla was almost certain he glanced right at her before surveying the room again. "We have a few ground rules that must be set. First of which, I'd like to reiterate the fact that the Forbidden Forest is just that, a _forbidden _forest. No one is to enter it under any circumstances. Mr. Filch would also like me to remind you that the third floor corridor is off limits. He would also like for me to remind you that there is to be no magic in the halls between classes and that there is a list detailing prohibited items on his office door. That being said, I would like to say that I hope this year is a pleasant one. Now let's eat, before our start of term dinner becomes our start of term breakfast." There were a few slight chuckles around the hall, mostly from first years. As soon as Dumbledore sat down, the serving bowls and plates filled with wonderful smelling food and the pitchers filled with ice cold pumpkin juice. Everyone dug in and was soon eating and talking with each other, catching up on things they had missed over the break.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Chapter three is up and ready . Hope you enjoy. Let me know what you think.

* * *

Chapter 3

"Merlin! I have to show the first years to the common room! I'll see you guys up there!" Lily yelled as she jumped up from the table and ran to the door behind the staff table where they were holding the prefects meeting. Lily was made school prefect over the summer. As soon as the meal was over, Dumbledore said a few more parting words and then sent the school off to bed.

"What do your parents do?" Josie asked as she and Kayla followed the masses to their common room.

"They work for the Ministry. That's why we were living in the states. My father was transferred there." Kayla said.

"What's it like in the states? Are they all drugged up and stupid?" Josie asked. Kayla laughed.

"No. Where I lived, it was a pretty decent place. It was nothing like this, though." Kayla said as she looked around the hallway.

"What do you think of Hogwarts so far?" Josie asked.

"It's amazing. My school in Virginia looked nothing like this. This place is incredible." Josie smiled. They reached the end of a hallway and stopped in front of a large picture of a fat lady.

"Password, please." The painting said. Josie looked to Kayla who shrugged, neither knowing the password. They heard loud laughing coming up the hallway and turned to see who it was, hoping they would know the password. The group rounded the corner and Kayla's heart sank. It was the Marauders. Just the people she was hoping to avoid for the rest of the day. The four stopped laughing when they noticed the two girls standing in front of the painting.

"Well hello ladies." Said James flashing them a very charming smile. Kayla just returned it with a look of disgust. "Stuck, are we?" he asked.

"Do you know the password, Potter?" Josie asked firmly, clearly having no desire to deal with them either.

"I don't…but Padfoot here does." James said, motioning to Sirius who was standing behind him. Josie rolled her eyes.

"Password, Black." She said with a deadly tone to her voice. Sirius put on a fake pout-y face.

"Now what have I done to deserve that tone?" he asked, walking over and putting an arm around Josie. Josie sighed.

"Black, do you know the password or not?" she asked, her tone going from deadly to exhausted.

"Maybe I do and maybe I don't." he replied with a grin. Josie huffed and shoved his arm off of her.

"Forget it! I don't want the stupid password!" she exclaimed. The boys just laughed.

"Aww, Jos. I'm sure you could get it out of me." Sirius said with a chuckle.

"I'd rather go without knowing than try any method of getting it out of you." Sirius grinned and wrapped his arms around her tightly, emitting a groan from Josie.

"C'mon, Jos! You know you love me. Why must you keep denying it?" Sirius asked. Josie pushed Sirius away from her.

"I wouldn't admit to loving you if my life depended on it!" Josie said, finally being able to pry herself loose from Sirius' grip. Kayla stood aside and watched Josie struggle.

"You wouldn't admit to loving him, or you wouldn't love him?" Remus asked. Josie looked at him dumfounded.

"What…?" she asked, slowly realizing her mistake.

"You didn't say you wouldn't love him. You just said that you wouldn't _admit_ to loving him…See the difference?" he said flashing her a smile. Kayla cracked a smile for a quick second, then replaced it with a scowl again, not wanting anyone to see her interest in what Remus had to say. Josie searched for a witty come back but only came up with

"Stop putting words in my mouth!" and stomped off down the hallway.

"She did say it, didn't she?" asked Remus, looking at the other three boys. They nodded.

"Yes, yes she did." They agreed. The four stood outside talking about what had just happened when Kayla finally decided to speak up for the first time since they had arrived.

"Um…could I get the password please? I would really like to go inside now." She said with a slight laugh. The boys all turned around, clearly just noticing Kayla's presence. The four boys started to play their little games with Kayla when she finally got fed up with it.

"WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST GIVE ME THE BLOODY PASSWORD!!" her shout echoed down the hallway.

"Black, I gave you the password, would you please just use it?" asked a female voice from behind them. Everyone turned around to see Lily standing there.

"I'm having much more fun not using it, actually." Sirius replied. James started walking towards Lily, who held up her hand as she walked past him.

"Don't start with me Potter. I just had to go chase after three first years that got lost on the moving stairwell. All three of them were on different levels. After I found them, I found out that they were each from the three other houses and had forgotten the password. Honestly, I have no more patience left to play childish games with you as well." she said exasperatedly. She stood in front of the painting and said,

"_Flitterbloom._" She said clearly.

"Finally." The fat lady muttered, as she swung open, revealing a hole for which to climb through. Lily climbed through first, followed by Kayla and then the Marauders.

"Where's Josie?" Lily asked.

"Sirius drove her away." Kayla replied.

"I did not! It was Remus!" Sirius exclaimed from a couch next to the fire.

"Well, whatever. It was still because of those four that she's gone." Kayla said. Lily sighed, but perked up immediately as she remembered something McGonagall had informed her of.

"You're going to be rooming with me, Josie, and Alice. She's real sweet. You'll get along just fine." Kayla smiled. "So what did Remus do?" Lily asked, eyeing Remus who was sitting in an armchair.

"He started questioning whether Josie loved Sirius or not." Kayla said.

"I did not! I simply pointed out that she might not have said what she wanted to…or said what she wanted to, but didn't mean to." He said. Lily laughed.

"Be serious, Lupin. Josie has no other feeling for Black other than hatred. Same as me and Potter." Lily said. Remus shrugged.

"He can't be serious! I'm Sirius! Stop trying to steal my identity Moony!" Sirius yelled at Remus, throwing a pillow at him. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Do you know how old that joke is? It's really not funny anymore." She said.

"I doubt if it was ever funny. That's the first time I've ever heard it and I didn't find it the least bit amusing." Kayla added.

"Everybody's a critic." Sirius mumbled. Lily sighed and shook her head.

"C'mon Kayla. I'll show you to our room." Lily said, taking Kayla up the stairs to the girls' dorm. "Word to the wise, if you ever need to get rid of those four, just come up to our dorm. They can't get passed the stairs." Kayla took note of that.

"Does Josie like Sirius?" Kayla asked. Lily sighed.

"Everyone thinks so. She still denies it whenever anyone asks, but it's pretty obvious. You heard the way she was talking about him on the train. Head over heals, she is. Why?" she asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Well, because when Remus questioned whether or not Josie loved Sirius, it was because Josie said that she would never admit to liking him. Sounded to me like she did." Lily opened the door to their dorm room. There were four beds, each four posters with a curtain around it for privacy. At the end of each bed were the girls' trunks.

"This is your bed." Lily said, indicating a bed right below a window. Kayla was happy about that. When she couldn't sleep at home, staring out the window beside her bed always helped. She looked out the window and saw a beautiful moonlit night above the lake with a large tree next to it. _I hope I can't sleep tonight_. Kayla thought to herself as she surveyed the grounds outside her window. "This is my bed." Lily said, indicating a very well made bed beside her. It was right next to the door to the bathroom, which they shared with the four girls in the next room. "That's Josie's bed." Lily pointed to an unmade bed. The trunk at the end was open with various garments hanging over the lid and off the curtain rail. Kayla laughed to herself. "And that's Alice's bed." Lily said, indicating a much cleaner bed. Above it was hanging a poster of a famous Auror. "Um…did Josie ever get the password?" Lily asked. Kayla shook her head and the two girls left the dorm to find Josie.

They walked down the stairs and into the common room to find that Josie had gotten the password from Alice and was trying to get rid of Sirius.

"Back off, Black! I'm not kidding!" she yelled as Sirius continued to put his arm over her shoulder. Lily and Kayla joined the group. Kayla took a seat on the couch and Lily sat on a very comfortable looking oversized armchair.

"Kayla is rooming with us, Josie." Lily informed her. Josie made a face of frustration as she tried to get rid of Sirius again.

"That's great." Josie said, rushing over to an armchair and sitting down before Sirius had the chance to put his arm around her again. Kayla looked around and realized that Sirius was the only one of the Marauders that was in the room. Not bothering to ask, she just sat back and took in her surroundings. Giving up, Sirius sat down on a couch across from Kayla.

"Hey, Baxter. You know all newbies to Gryffindor have to go through a hazing to welcome them to the house." Sirius said with a grin. Kayla looked at Josie and Lily, who both gave Sirius exasperated looks.

"No they do not! Don't listen to him Kayla." Lily said, shaking her head at Sirius.

"Yes they do, Lils. It's a new tradition I've started this year. Kayla will be the first." Kayla laughed.

"We'll just see about that. What's this hazing all about anyways?" she said, crossing her arms. Sirius grinned.

"Well…"He started, but was cut off be a loud screech from Kayla. Sirius rolled with laughter as Kayla stood in the middle of the common room, drenched in thick green slime. She looked above her and saw a bucket floating overhead. She whipped around when she heard laughter coming from the boys' staircase. She walked over, still covered in slime and found Remus, James, and Peter grasping the railing to keep themselves from tumbling down the stairs, they were laughing so hard. Kayla wiped some of the slime off of her face and pulled out her wand. She pointed it at the three and mumbled something under her breath. The three felt something hit them square in the chest. James looked down, gasping for air from laughing.

"What's this?" he asked, looking at his shirt. Glued to it with a perma-stick charm were the words "Slytherin Rules" with the two "s" forming snakes. The three stopped laughing and tried to pull the signs off. Kayla smirked and cleaned herself of the sticky goop, finding that it left her hair an acidy shade of green. She growled under her breath and glared at the three boys.

"Get these off of us!" Remus demanded. Kayla laughed and shook her head.

"Huh uh. Not a chance." The trio stood up and rushed upstairs to change. Kayla rejoined a still rolling Sirius and a curious Lily and Josie back in the common room.

"What did you do to them?" Lily asked. Kayla smiled.

"You'll see." Sirius sat up on the arm of the couch, having finally stopped laughing. Remus stormed down the stairs and up to Kayla, topless, and carrying several shirts in his tightly clenched fist. Josie whistled from her spot on the armchair. Remus glared at her and then back at Kayla.

"Get these off! You put them on all of our clothes! What are we supposed to do?!" he asked. Kayla grinned.

"Seems like you figured that one out already." She said, eyeing his sculpted chest. Remus huffed and pulled one of the shirts back on, sending Sirius into further fits of laughter once he saw the signs. Remus glared at him.

"I wouldn't be laughing. I went through your trunk to find a shirt. She's hit yours as well, mate." Sirius stopped laughing and promptly ran up the stairs to see if what he said was true. "Get these off." Remus said through gritted teeth.

"Turn my hair back to its normal color!" Kayla demanded.

"Fix us first!" Remus yelled. Lily and Josie watched the argument as if watching a tennis match.

"Fix your own bloody self! My hair better not be permanent!" Remus advanced on Kayla, getting within inches of her face, staring her straight in the eye.

"It will be if you don't get these signs off of our clothes." Remus warned.

"I'm afraid I don't respond well to threats. Guess I'll just have to get used to it." She said, stepping closer to him so they were now only centimeters apart. Kayla stared Remus back in the eye. Her heart pounded, and she had no idea why. It wasn't the first time she'd argued with a boy, and it wasn't the first time she'd been this close to one either. But for some reason, her heart was racing and she could feel herself begin to blush. Remus groaned and stepped back. He pulled his shirt off and turned it inside out.

"I'm going to figure out how to get these things off myself. You'll have to do the same about your hair." He said heading off up to his dorm, where loud curses could be heard coming from Sirius. Kayla shrugged. Lily watched the fight in amazement. She had never seen Remus react that way to anyone before.

"Do you know how to fix it?" Kayla asked. Lily nodded.

"James did the same to me second year. I figured it out eventually." Kayla fingered a strand of green hair. "I don't know that I've ever seen Remus that angry. You really must have done a number on him." Kayla shrugged.

"I apologized. I don't know why he's still angry with me." Kayla said.

"No, she means she thinks he likes you." Kayla looked at Josie questioningly.

"Well, he either likes you, or he really really hates you. And I've never really known him to really really hate anyone outside of Slytherin." Lily said shrugging.

"Some how I think it's the latter." Kayla said.

"C'mon. Let's go get your hair turned back and then turn in for the night. We start classes tomorrow. Wouldn't want to miss that." Lily said sarcastically. The three girls headed up to their dorm room, chatting about how the guys were going to figure out how to fix their shirts.

The next morning, Lily and Kayla went down to breakfast before the guys had. They had found Maggie and were filling her in on what had happened the night before. Maggie was nearly falling off her seat laughing. Josie ran in after they had finished filling Maggie in, holding three pieces of paper.

"Schedules!" she exclaimed, sitting down next to Kayla. She passed the papers to her roommates who opened them and read each class.

"Looks like we've got most of our classes together with you Mags. Unfortunately, we also have most of them with the Marauders. Couldn't they have given us a break this year? Just this year? We had all our classes with them last year. I was really hoping for a break." Lily said, folding up her schedule and pocketing it. Just then, the doors to the Great Hall opened again as the Marauders entered, looking very upset. The four girls began giggling, Kayla choking on her pumpkin juice, when they saw them closer. All four had holes and badly sewn patches on the fronts of their shirts.

"Looks great!" Lily said sarcastically to James. James glared at her.

"No really, I think it could be a new style!" said Kayla, trying to stifle a laugh, but doing very poorly at it.

"Shut up." Remus said. Kayla ran her fingers through her hair, which was back in it's normal state again, with a big grin on her face.

"What do you think?" she asked him. Remus rolled his eyes.

"Lovely." He said with little enthusiasm. The four walked away, leaving the girls laughing loudly. The girls continued eating their breakfast, wondering who else was in their classes and possible cute guys to flirt with (Kayla wasn't very interested).


	4. Chapter 4

Later on that morning, Kayla, Josie, Lily, and Maggie walked to their first class of the day, Potions. Kayla was all right at potions, but her favorite subject was Transfiguration. The four girls walked in and found seats at two tables across from each other. Lily and Kayla sat together behind Josie and Maggie. Soon after they were seated, they heard the familiar laughing and chatting of the Marauders. The girls all exchanged glances as the four boys came in and sat at tables beside the girls.

"Want to be my partner?" Sirius asked Josie really loudly. Many heads turned to look at Josie, who began to blush and sank down in her seat.

"No, I don't." she whispered back to him.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I don't want to be your partner." Josie said back, a little louder.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Say it again." Sirius said with a grin.

"I… don't… want… you… to be ...my …partner!" Josie said slowly and clearly.

"You don't want me to what?" he asked.

"BE MY PARNTER! BE MY PARNTER! How many times do I have to say it!?" Josie yelled. Sirius grinned and shrugged.

"All you had to do was ask." He said, getting up and sitting next to Josie. Josie realized what she had done and put her head down on the table. Kayla and Lily giggled. The door to the potions classroom closed as the last students entered and took their seats and the professor walked to the front of the class.

"Welcome to the first Potions lesson of the year. I am Professor McDung and this is my first year teaching." Sirius and James sniggered at the professor's name. Remus looked as if he were trying to hide a smile. The girls just shook their heads and Josie smacked Sirius in the arm. "I will be assigning partners for each of you." There were several groans of disapproval from the students as their hopes of choosing their own partner were crushed before them. Professor McDung pulled out a roster and started calling out names. When all the names had been called and each student had moved to sit next to their partner, the seating arrangement was slightly less than what was desired. Sirius was still next to Josie, much to her dismay. Lily was fighting to keep James off of her from the moment he sat down next to her. Maggie slid her chair uncomfortably to the left, eyeballing Peter to her right as he sat with his hands in his lap, twiddling his thumbs. Kayla sat with her chin in her hand looking away from Remus who sat beside her, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, a scowl painted on his face. Professor McDung put up an easy potion on the board, just to give the students something to work on and to see at what level each student was. Remus set to work on chopping and measuring ingredients while Kayla monitored the cauldron; stirring when necessary, adding ingredients, adjusting the flame.

"Remus, watch the cauldron for a minute. I'm going to see if Professor McDung has any stewed horn slugs." Kayla said, getting up and walking to the teacher's desk. Remus eyed the cauldron and looked at the board to see what the next ingredient was. He carefully added it, but, despite his care, the cauldron emitted a billow of smoke and the potion erupted from the cauldron. Kayla spun around and found Remus standing, dumbfounded, next to their empty cauldron, covered in a bright orange potion. Kayla sighed and grabbed a flask and a stirring stick. She walked up to Remus and scraped some of the potion off of him and into the bottle with the stirring stick, corked it and labeled it. After submitting their potion to the professor, Kayla went back and stood next to a still drenched and dumbfounded (not to mention embarrassed) Remus, and broke down laughing.

The girls didn't have another class with the Marauders that day. Later that evening at dinner, the four girls were sitting, eating, and discussing their classes when the Marauders walked in. All four of them still sported their badly sewn shirts, one, however, was turned a nasty shade of orange that resembled iodine. Remus still looked very upset and put out. Kayla began to feel sorry for him and excused herself from the girls and followed the Marauders to their seat. She sat down next to Remus, who had his back turned to her, and tapped him on the shoulder. Remus turned around and gave her a look that suggested that he was curious as to what she wanted but couldn't care less at the same time.

"Do you still want your shirts fixed?" Kayla asked.

"I think we managed just fine thanks." Remus said indignantly. Kayla sighed.

"Well at least let me change that one back to its normal color." She offered. Remus thought about it for a moment and then shrugged.

"Fine." He said. Kayla smiled and pulled out her wand. She flicked her wrist and muttered a spell and his shirt was back to normal, even the sewn patch was gone. Remus looked down at his shirt and smiled. "Thanks." He said. James and Sirius watched the two interact with mild amusement. Kayla smiled back.

"No problem…by the way…. what happened in potions today?" she asked. Remus blushed slightly.

"I added the last ingredient." He said. Kayla looked confused.

"That's it?" she asked. Remus shrugged. "Wow…you must be really bad at potions then." She said with a chuckle.

"Oh shut up. I'm not that good at it. So what?" he asked defensively. Kayla smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, didn't mean to laugh. Since we're going to be partners, maybe I could help you out with it a bit." She offered. Remus shrugged.

"Whatever." He said.

"You know, I'm making an attempt to be nice here. You could at least pretend to be decent." Kayla said. Remus put on a fake smile.

"Better?" he asked in mock cheer.

"Much." Kayla said, clearly angry. She got up and returned to her seat with the girls.

"What was that all about?" Josie asked Kayla.

"Nothing, just a little heart to heart." Kayla said through gritted teeth. Lily and Josie exchanged glances, but didn't press the subject. A little later, just as the girls had finished eating, James sat down next to Lily.

"You know, Lily. The first Hogsmeade trip is coming up in October. Would you-" James started, but was cut off by Lily.

"I'm not going to Hogsmeade with you, Potter. I'm not going out with you either, so don't ask." She said.

"Did I say that? I just wanted to know if you knew anyone I could go with. But since we're on the subject…" James said, wrapping his arm around Lily's waist. Lily laughed, but tried to hide it and stay angry.

"James, let go of me! I'm not your girlfriend nor will I ever be!" she said, removing his hand from her side.

"What was that? Did-did you just call me…. James?" he asked in fake shock. Lily sighed.

"Yes, I guess I did." James smiled.

"Well that's an improvement. Just wait, Lily Evans. By the end of the year, you'll be my date to Hogsmeade." James said, getting up and returning to his seat next to Sirius.

"Yeah, that'll be the day. He said the same thing to me the beginning of last year. Maybe he thinks the more he says it, the more likely it is to become true." Lily said. The girls laughed and got up to leave the Great Hall.

"I'm going to go to the library for a bit. I'll see you guys back in the dorm later." Kayla said, splitting from the group. She entered the library and scanned the shelves for books, not looking for anything in particular. She found one that struck her interest and pulled it off the shelf and sat down at a table to read. Kayla had gotten a few pages into the book when someone else sat down at the table. She put the book down to see who it was. She raised an eyebrow when she saw Remus grinning at her from the other side of the table.

"Read that one first year." He said, pointing to the book.

"Fascinating." Kayla said with little interest.

"Listen…I wanted to apologize about what happened in the Great Hall. It hasn't been a very good day for me." Remus apologized. _He sounds sincere_. Kayla thought, but she didn't care.

"So you took it out on me? Glad to know I'm good for something." She said. Remus sighed.

"Look, I said I was sorry. What else do you want from me? You expected me to be cheery with you during dinner, you're coming off as a bit of a hypocrite by not doing me the same decency of at least pretending." Remus said, starting to get annoyed.

"As I recall, after I said that you plastered on a fake smile that greatly resembled the face one makes when being examined by a dentist. Not exactly something that would merit much treatment at a higher level." Remus sighed.

"Alright, again I'm sorry. I want to start over. We had a good run for about five minutes when we met. Maybe we can try at that again." Kayla was sure that he was sincere this time. She sighed and put down her book.

"Alright. Let's start over." She reached out her hand, which Remus took and shook. "I'm Kayla Baxter." She said with a smile. Remus smiled back.

"Nice to meet you Kayla. I'm Remus Lupin." Kayla giggled and let go of his hand.

"I let go this time." She said. Remus laughed. "Remus…why did you offer to show me where my trunk was?" she asked. Remus sat back in his chair and thought for a moment.

"Honestly…I wanted to get to know you without my friends around. Get some time with you by myself." He said. Kayla grinned.

"So you showed me the way to the end of the hallway. Could have found that one myself." She said with a grin.

"It was an uncharacteristically stupid moment for me. At least I help you carry the trunk. Could have just let you struggle." He said, leaning on his arms over the table.

"I would have popped a vein in my head before we got the trunk out of the room. Wouldn't have been very gentlemanly of you. And besides, I would have gotten blood on the floor. Then where would we be?" she asked with a giggle. Remus chuckled.

"On our hands and knees with a bucket and rags." Kayla laughed.

"Honest labor builds a good character. Might have done us some good." She said. Remus grinned.

"Wouldn't have done you any good." He said.

"Excuse me? Why do you have to do that? We were having a perfectly good moment and then you had to go and-" Kayla began to argue in a loud whisper, but was cut off by Remus.

"You didn't let me finish. I was going to say that it wouldn't have done you any good. You have a fine character as it is, I don't think it can get any better." He said with a grin. Kayla leaned back in her chair and looked down, trying to hide her blushing face.

"Oh…sorry…that's not how it sounded, just so you know." She said softly. Remus shrugged. There was a moment of awkward silence. _I'm sure he's trying to hit on me now. This is just what Lily and Josie were trying to tell me. I've had guys hit on me before…I'm full of smart comments to throw out whenever a guy hits on me…and Remus hasn't been the kindest to me since we've been at school…so why am I having so much trouble getting one out?_ Kayla thought to herself. "Just say it!" she scolded herself out loud.

"Say what?" Remus asked. Kayla realized that she had actually said that rather than just thinking it and blushed again.

"Nothing…I was talking to myself." She said.

"Oh and what were you telling yourself to say?" Remus asked. Without thinking, Kayla opened her mouth and said the first thing that came to mind.

"The problem with guys like you is you think with your dicks and not your hearts. Go find some other piece of ass to drool over." She said with an American accent. Remus looked taken aback and Ani slapped her hand over her mouth in utter shock that she had said that.

"Ouch." Remus said, sitting back in his chair.

"I'm so sorry…" she said weakly.

"Wow…well then…I guess I'll be leaving. See you in the common room I guess." Remus had a mixture of shock and confusion written on his face. He got up and walked out of the library, glancing back at Kayla who stared after him with her mouth still covered. _You didn't have to say that!_ Her mind scolded her. Kayla got up and ran after Remus. She hadn't meant to say that. She caught up with him just as he was climbing one of the moving stairwells.

"Remus! Wait!" Kayla called. Remus stopped and turned around.

"What?" he asked.

"I'm sorry." Kayla said simply. Remus nodded.

"Apology accepted." He said and turned around and started walking again.

"Wait! I want to talk to you." Remus reluctantly stopped and turned around.

"Talk then." He said. Kayla sighed.

"I didn't mean to say that. It's just…you hit on me and when guys back home used to do it I would throw out a remark like that without any hesitation…I was yelling at myself for not being able to say something like that to you. For some reason I couldn't do it." Kayla apologized.

"You didn't seem to have too much trouble with it." Remus said. Kayla shook her head.

"I shouldn't have said it. I didn't mean it…it just sort of came out. I'm really sorry. Please don't be upset with me. I really want to try again. You seem like a really nice guy. I want the chance to get to know you better." Remus sighed.

"Alright…insult me again, though, and I'm going to have to hex you." Remus warned with a hint of playfulness to his voice. Kayla smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind." Kayla said. She climbed the stairs the rest of the way to catch up with Remus and the two walked the rest of the way together. The two received a common room full of strange looks when they walked in talking and laughing together. After one day the two had already managed to have a reputation of hating each other. Kayla tried to pay the looks no mind, though, and joined Lily and Josie on the couch.

"Are you alright?" Josie asked. Kayla nodded.

"Yeah why?" she asked.

"Were you not just talking with Remus a moment ago?" Lily questioned. Kayla chuckled.

"Yeah I was. So what?" she asked.

"I thought you hated him." Josie said. Kayla shrugged.

"We had a talk and talked some things out and decide to start over." She said. Josie and Lily shrugged.

"Whatever." They both said.

"So when's the wedding?" Sirius asked Remus as he walked up to join them at the table he and James were playing Wizard's Chess. Peter took his eyes off the chessboard for the first time when Remus walked up.

"What are you talking about?" Remus asked, pulling up a chair and sitting opposite Peter.

"You and Baxter. You two seemed pretty chatty a moment ago. I was just wondering when the wedding was going to be." Sirius continued. Remus laughed.

"When pigs fly." He said.

"I can make that happen." James said calmly.

"Not a chance. I'm not in love with the girl." Remus said with a laugh.

"But you like her. I can tell. I remember that look, the one you give Kayla whenever she's not making your life hell. I remember it from when you dated-" James started. Remus cut him off.

"I don't give her any look. I don't like her like that. Stop pushing. If I want to ask her out, I will." Remus said. James and Sirius shrugged.

"Whatever, mate." Sirius said. The two went back to their game as Remus looked on.

"I think she's pretty." Peter said after a few moments of silence. The three looked up at him.

"Do you?" Remus asked. Peter nodded. Remus shrugged. "She's alright I guess. Doesn't mean I'm gonna ask her out, though." Remus said. Sirius and James finished their game in silence except to call out the moves, and the sounds of game pieces being crushed (and the occasional curse from either James or Sirius).


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Lily, Kayla, Josie, and Alice were all sitting in their dorm talking. It was nearing midnight, but seeing as it was a Friday, they weren't about to quick to jump in bed for the night. The three girls were nagging Alice about her little crush on a 6th year named Frank Longbottom.

"I'm not going to ask him out. I get too nervous!" Alice said.

"I heard he likes you, though." Josie pushed.

"Really?" Alice asked.

"Where'd you hear that?" Lily asked.

"Uh…from…Severus Snape." Josie said uncomfortably. The truth was, she hadn't heard any such thing. She said the first name that came to mind.

"Snape? How would he know?" Lily asked. Kayla looked around curiously as the mentioning of Severus Snape seemed to cause a bit of an uproar.

"Who's he?" she asked.

"Only the nastiest 5th year in Hogwarts history. Arch rival of the Marauders and any Gryffindor for that matter-" Lily started, but was cut off by Josie.

"Well, all except you, Lils darling." Josie teased. Lily cringed and threw a pillow at her.

"What's so bad about him?"

"He's gross! Slimy, greasy git." Lily continued.

"You stand up for him, though." Alice asked curiously.

"I can't help feel sorry for him. No one, no matter how slimy they are, deserves the kind of treatment that the Marauders give him…well…except for the Marauders that is." Lily said with a shrug.

"He's always hanging around with Lucius Malfoy. They're perfect for each other, really. Lucius is just as slimy as he is." Josie said.

"But not in a greasy way, like Snape. Malfoy's slime is more serpentine. He's not in Slytherin for nothing." Alice continued.

"He thinks he's something special because he's a pureblood. No offense, girls, but there is nothing special about purebloods." Lily said. The three shrugged the comment off, knowing Lily was muggle-born.

"Wait…is he tall? Has long blonde hair? Rather pointed features?" Kayla asked. The girls nodded.

"Yeah. You met him?" they asked. Kayla nodded.

"At Kings Cross. I ran into him with my cart. The wanker called me a mudblood." Kayla said. Lily gasped.

"Why did he call you that?" she asked. Kayla shrugged.

"He said that only a mudblood would be that stupid to run into him. Bloody dolt was standing in front of the barrier! What could I have done to stop it?" Kayla asked, flinging her arms around in a bizarre display of body language. Josie sighed.

"Never cross ol' Luccy boy's path. You'll always end up feeling inadequate, or like you just want to bludgeon someone to death." Lily laughed.

"I've never felt so stupid in my life. And I didn't even do anything wrong. Well…until I told him off for calling me a mudblood." Kayla said with a grin, remembering the great feeling she had while doing it.

"You did!" Josie asked in shock. Kayla nodded.

"I told him if he called me a mudblood again, I would curse him so that he'd never be able to have children. Told him it wouldn't be such a bad idea. Future generations wouldn't have to deal with him or his family." The girls all laughed. "Yeah…that was after, and sort of during, Remus telling him off for me." Kayla said.

"Standing up for you? I thought he hated you." Lily said. Kayla shrugged.

"That's what I thought too. He seemed really offended by it." She said.

"OK. I'm convinced. He likes you. You should go out with him." Josie said, matter of factly.

"We could say the same about you Josie, darling." Kayla said.

"I don't like Remus." Josie said confused. Kayla shook her head.

"No, but your pretty hooked on Sirius. I've only been here a couple of days and I can already tell. You should just give up the fight and go out with him." Kayla suggested. Josie shook her head.

"Can't. He's the biggest player in school. If I go out with him, I'm likely to get my heart stomped on. He doesn't have the biggest record of long term relationships." Josie said.

"But you'd go out with him if he wasn't like that?" Kayla asked. Josie shrugged and began tracing invisible patterns on her bed sheets.

"I suppose so. He is really cute." She said with a grin. Lily laughed and threw another pillow at her.

"Well, maybe we can figure out a way for that to happen." Alice said.

"How?" Lily asked.

"Well, I have it on good authority that Black really likes Josie. If he likes her as much as he says, he'd change for her." Josie scoffed.

"Bullocks. He doesn't like me that much and even if he did, I doubt he'd ever change." Kayla shrugged.

"I don't know, Josie. It's worth a try. We'll work on it for you, in the mean time, cozy up to him a bit. Flirt from time to time. Get a feel for what he thinks of you on your own." Kayla suggested.

"Alright alright…I'll do it." Josie caved in. Kayla smiled.

"Yay! Now all we have to do is work on Lily and James and we're set." Kayla said, smiling suggestively at Lily whose eyes widened when she said this.

"I don't think so! And who says we're done after that? We still have you and Remus to hook up." Kayla laughed.

"Like that's happening. I'm not really into the dating thing. And besides, we're just friends and barely at that." Kayla said.

"You mean to tell me that you don't like him even the tiniest itty bitty little bit?" Josie asked. Kayla chuckled.

"No, not really." She answered.

"What do you mean you're not into dating?" Alice asked. Kayla explained her stand on dating and school and the girls nodded.

"You have a point there, but don't you think you're going a little over board? I mean, Lily's the top of the class and she's dated before." Alice said. Kayla shrugged.

"That's what my parents think too. Strange, really. Who's ever heard of parent's trying to get their one and only daughter to start dating?" The girls laughed and shrugged.

"Personally, I think you and Remus would make a very cute couple." Josie pushed. Kayla laughed.

"Maybe, but I'm still not going out with him."

"What if he asked you?" Lily asked. Kayla thought about it for a moment. What would she do?

"I don't know…I might consider it." Kayla shrugged trying to seem uninterested. In fact, she was starting to play with the idea of Remus being more than a friend. What if they did start dating? _You don't even like him! Stop making more of it than it needs. Besides, you have your studies. You don't have time for a boyfriend._ Kayla convinced herself.

"I think you two would make an adorable couple. One of those really cute ones who fight a lot, but love each other more. I'm going to try and hook you two up." Lily decided. Kayla laughed and shook her head.

"Whatever Lils. Good luck." She said. The girls stayed up talking for just a little longer, before Lily, Josie, and Alice realized that Kayla had fallen asleep. Deciding that that was probably a good idea, they all climbed into bed and went to sleep.

The next morning, the four girls went down to breakfast. They were a little late since they had slept in that morning. Lily glanced around the Hall and found the Marauders sitting at the other end of the table. Well, three of the Marauders anyways.

"I wonder where Remus is." Lily said. The other three glanced down to see why she was asking.

"Probably in the library. Bookworm, he is." Josie said. Kayla grinned, remember what her mother had said before they had left for the Potters. She shook the thought out of her head and grabbed a slice of toast.

Later that day, Kayla, Lily, Maggie, and Josie headed out to the giant tree by the lake.

"This is my favorite spot. We claimed it second year, remember girls?" Lily said, looking at Josie and Maggie.

"Yeah, after Lisa Lenox graduated. It's the best tree on campus." Maggie said. They all sat down in the shade of the large tree. It was a hot September day, the warm are from summer having not died away in the early weeks of the month. Just then, three rather unwelcome people joined the girls.

"Afternoon, ladies. May we join you?" James asked. Lily sighed.

"I'd say no, but it wouldn't make a difference." She responded. James smirked and sat down beside her.

"You know me so well." He said, putting an arm around her shoulder.

"Big headed git." Kayla flat out said in James' direction. James faked a hurt look.

"Ouch. That really hurt Baxter." He said.

"No it didn't, but it was fun to say anyways." Kayla said as she was shoved over by Sirius, who was trying to make his way to Josie. Josie refused to move over.

"I just want to sit with you, Jos. I bathed this morning, so I promise I don't smell." Josie looked shocked that that was even an issue.

"Go find somewhere else to sit, Black." Sirius sighed.

"I'm sorry, but I just can't do that Josie." Sirius said. Josie opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Sirius who had sat himself down right in her lap.

"OI BLACK GET OFF!" she yelled. Sirius laughed.

"Actually, I'm quite comfortable." He said, folding his arms behind his head. Maggie pulled her wand out of her robes and pointed it at Sirius.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" she said. Before Sirius had a chance to react, he shot into the air off of Josie's lap. He kept flying up until he hit a branch, which he latched onto in order to keep himself from continuing up, at which point Maggie put her wand away, ending the spell. Sirius held onto the branch and swung himself up so he was lying on top of it. Everyone stared up at him laughing.

"Yeah, very funny." He said. Peter sat down sort of behind Lily and James. They were yet again the only Marauders present.

"Where's your fourth? Still in the library?" Lily asked. James glanced up at Sirius.

"He's been unavoidably detained. Why?" James asked and then glanced over at Kayla. "Does she miss her boy?" Kayla rolled her eyes.

"Yeah that's it." She said sarcastically. James slammed his fist into the palm of his other hand.

"I knew it!" he said. Kayla shook her head.

"Actually, we wanted to talk to you about our dear Moony." Said Sirius, who was now hanging upside down from the tree branch just a foot above Josie and Kayla's heads.

"What about him?" Kayla asked, knowing it was going to have something to do with the day before.

"We think you should go out with him." James said. Kayla scoffed.

"I've been here less than a week and guys are already trying to pick me up." She said, shaking her head.

"We're not trying to pick you up. We're trying to convince you to pick up a very deserving mate." Sirius said as he played with strands of Josie's hair. Josie looked up at him and swatted his hands away.

"Yeah well, I'm not going out with him, deserving or not. We can barely even stand each other as friends. We'd tear each other's throats out if we dated."

"That's a pretty strong statement for someone you've only known for a couple of days." Kayla shrugged.

"I'm a good judge of people." She said.

"Well I think you judged this one wrong. Give him a chance." Sirius said, continuing to bug Josie.

"I am giving him a chance. And besides, it's a little hard to give him a chance when he's not around. Tell me where he is and I'll go and talk to him if it'll get you two off my back." She said.

"Oh, he's in the hospital wing." Peter chimed in. Sirius and James glared at him, causing Peter to shrink back into the background.

"Hospital wing? Why?" Kayla asked sounding slightly concerned.

"He got sick last night. He'll be out tomorrow. Nothing big." James said, still glaring at Peter.

"Well we should go visit him." Maggie suggested. The girls nodded. Sirius and James shook their heads frantically.

"No, no you can't." Sirius said.

"And why not?" asked Josie, looking up at him.

"Because…" James searched for an excuse.

"Because Madam Pomfrey said he can't have any visitors. We'll get detention for sure." Sirius said. The girls all raised eyebrows at him.

"Since when do you worry about getting in trouble?" Lily asked. Before Sirius had the chance to respond, two more unwelcome people joined the group.

"Well well well. If it isn't the Marauders, minus one. Where's your trusty side kick, Potter? In the hospital wing again?" asked a tall blonde that Kayla recognized as Lucius Malfoy. The boy with him, a slightly shorter fifth year with greasy black hair, Kayla assumed was the one she and the girls had talked about the night before, Severus Snape.

"What's it to you, Luccy boy?" Sirius asked, flipping down from the tree limb.

"Oh nothing, I just seem to remember him going missing once a month last year. The same time every month, for that matter." He said. James and Sirius glared at Malfoy.

"Coincidence." James said through gritted teeth, reaching into his robes for his wand.

"Really? Well, we'll just have to see about that. No use lying to me, boys. I already know." Lucius said, turning on his heel and walking away. "Come along, Severus." Said Lucius as he walked away.

"Oh yes, wouldn't want to leave without your trusty little lap dog. Tell me, Luccy. Is he your lap dog in the common room as well, or just in the private of your own dorm?" Sirius asked. Lucius whipped back around and pulled out his wand.

"Watch your tongue, Black!" he warned.

"How does Narcissa feel about him? Is she jealous or does she enjoy the competition? Knowing her, she probably joins in on the fun." Sirius said, ignoring Malfoy's warning. Narcissa had been Lucius' girlfriend for the past two years. She was also Sirius' cousin, who he wasn't very fond of. She was in Slytherin, following the lead of every Black before her. Sirius was the first to not make it into Slytherin, much to his relief. Lucius advanced on Sirius, putting his wand back into his robes and raised his fist. Sirius braced himself for the fight, James getting up to help. Lucius swung a punch at Sirius, who ducked just before Malfoy hit him, Malfoy's fist running into the tree. He cried out in pain as his knuckles shattered with the force. Sirius swung a punch at Malfoy's stomach as he ducked, causing Malfoy to topple over, the wind knocked out of him. Josie sighed, not at all surprised or impressed at this show of manhood. Lily shook her head in disappointment. Kayla grinned to herself, watching Malfoy being beaten to a bloody pulp was bringing her great pleasure. Maggie, being the pacifist that she was, cringed and turned away from the fight. Lucius lay in a huddled lump on the ground, clutching his stomach and hand.

"Bother me or any of my friends again, and I won't be so lenient." Sirius warned, giving Malfoy a kick to the side, knocking him over. Snape stood staring at Malfoy on the ground and then looked up at Sirius, who was watching him.

"You want some too, Snivellus? I'll be glad to share." Sirius said, raising his fist as if he were going to punch him. Severus shook his head and bent down to help Malfoy up. The two Slytherins walked away toward the castle, leaving the seven sitting by the tree.

"Typical." Josie shook her head.

"What?" Sirius asked, truly having no idea what she was talking about.

"That was completely unnecessary. They didn't do anything to you. You could have just let them walk away." Josie said. Sirius pouted.

"Does this mean your not going out with me then?" he asked, hanging himself off of Josie.

"That's it. Back in your tree." Maggie said, whipping her wand out again and levitating Sirius back onto the tree limb.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I feel the need to be congratulated. Two chapters in one day is quite a feet for me! Not to mention that I have officially gone farther in this story than I have in any of my previous stories and I have no intention of quitting! I think this is cause for celebration, don't you? Why don't you REVIEW and let me know what you think . That'll be a nice congratulations for me.

* * *

Chapter 6

Later that day, the girls were sitting in their dorm after eating lunch. Lily was listening to music using a muggle device the other girls had never seen before. Kayla and Alice were talking about Frank. Josie was laying on her bed staring up at the ceiling, apparently lost in her own thoughts. Maggie, who had gone up to their dorm with Kayla, was sitting at the foot of Lily's bed reading a magazine she had swiped from Lily's dresser. Suddenly, Josie sat bolt upright.

"I have an idea! Why don't we go visit Remus in the hospital!" she said. The other girls gave her a bizarre look.

"Why would we do that?" Lily asked, pulling off her headphones.

"Partly because the guys don't want us to." Josie said.

"What makes you think they don't want us to?" Alice asked.

"When they told us not to visit him, they seemed really nervous about something. And being worried about Madam Pomfrey isn't normal for them. And for another reason, Remus is the only half decent one of them and we should at least go and see if he's ok." Josie continued her argument. The rest of the girls exchanged unsure glances. Josie looked hopefully between them.

"No one wants to go? What about you, Kayla? I know you want to." Josie gave Kayla her best puppy dog eyes. Kayla laughed.

"Alright I'll go, but not because I want to." She said. Josie smiled.

"Is anyone else coming?" Josie asked hopefully. The rest of the girls shook their heads. Josie sighed and got up. "Fine. C'mon Kayla." She and Kayla got up and left the room.

They entered the Hospital Wing together and glanced around.

"There he is." Kayla said, pointing to a bed at the very end of the hospital.

"Afternoon Remus." Josie said as they walked up to the bed. Kayla nearly gasped when she saw his condition as they drew closer to his bedside. Remus sat bolt upright in bed when he heard them. He looked at them so frightened; one would have thought he'd seen a ghost.

"W-what are you two doing here?" he asked hoarsely.

"We just came to see if you were alright. Remus what happened to you?" Kayla asked. Kayla looked over the bit of his body that wasn't under covers. He had several bandages on his face, one of his hands was wrapped in bandages, his other arm was wrapped up from his wrist to his elbow and he had bandages all along his chest and stomach.

"D-uh…R-erm…J-just a misunderstanding with a…Cornish Pixie" He said weakly. He berated himself in his head for having thought of something so stupid.

"A Cornish Pixie?" Josie asked in disbelief.

"You're pulling our legs." Kayla said. Remus shook his head.

"They were…big Cornish Pixies." Kayla shook her head, moving past the bizarre excuse.

"Well, are you alright?" she asked, trying to sound concerned and not annoyed.

"Yeah, I should be out tomorrow morning." Remus said, breathing a sigh of relief that they had changed topics. About ten minutes later, the two girls left the Hospital Wings (on Madam Pomfrey's orders) and headed back to the common room.

"Cornish Pixies?" Lily asked when they had told her. The girls nodded.

"Cornish Pixies don't do that much damage. Not to someone as good at Defense Against the Dark Arts as Remus is. I think something's up." Maggie concluded. Kayla and Josie nodded.

"I agree. All three of them acted like they were trying to hide something. The only one of them that didn't was Peter and James and Sirius looked really upset with him for it." Kayla added.

"We should ask them about it. I think they're up to something." Josie decided. Just then James and Sirius entered through the portrait hole whispering about something. They walked through the common room, not noticing any of the girls sitting in there.

"What are you up to Black?" Josie asked. Sirius jumped, startled by the sudden presence of another voice.

"Uh, erm…W-what are you talking about?" he asked, clutching his chest as his heart raced. Josie got up from her spot in one of the oversized armchairs and approached him.

"I didn't know you scared so easily, Black. Either that or you're hiding something from us." She glared at him. Sirius and James looked at the other four girls in the room who were also looking at them accusingly.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sirius said, having regained his composure.

"Tell me why Remus was in the hospital wing." Josie demanded.

"We already told you, he got sick last night and went to the hospital wing. It's nothing." Sirius said.

"Sick." Josie said. She shook her head. "That's not what he said." James and Sirius exchanged worried glances.

"What who said?" James asked.

"Remus. Kayla and I went to visit him a little while ago. He said he had a 'mishap with Cornish Pixies'." Josie did the air quotes as she said this.

"Y-yeah. Cornish Pixies. Exactly. He was helping Professor Buttles cage the last of the Cornish Pixies from yesterday's lessons and one of them flew right up to him and…kissed…him. Poor Remus contracted a rare…pixie…disease." Sirius explained, giving James a look as if to ask "What am I talking about!" James half shrugged, but covered with a nod.

"That's exactly what happened." Josie shook her head.

"No. No that's not what happened. He is practically bandaged from head to foot! Did you two do something to him? Was this one of your horrible pranks gone awry?" James and Sirius looked at Josie as if she had gone completely mad.

"Have you gone completely mental? You think we did this to him?" Sirius asked, now getting annoyed at the accusation.

"Well, if not directly to him, than indirectly. Either way it's because of you two that he's in there." Josie said, folding her arms across her chest.

"It is not our fault! It's the Pixie disease! It made him break out in terrible hives that had be medicated and bandaged to heal! Use your brain, Josie! None of us lied to you. We said he's ill, and he is. He said it was Pixies, and it was. You have your reason now stop bloody tormenting us about it!" Sirius yelled and stormed off. James stood there for a moment, then opened his mouth as if to offer further excuses or an apology, but shut it and ran off after Sirius. Josie turned on her heal to the other girls.

"I've never heard of a Pixie disease before." Lily said. Josie slowly walked back to the armchair and sat down.

"He did say it was rare. Maybe that's why we've never heard of it. The hives would explain the bandages." Kayla added.

"But who's ever heard of a Pixie kissing a wizard like that?" Maggie asked.

"Well they are mischievous little buggers. I've never heard of one doing it before, but it doesn't surprise me." Alice said.

"Josie, sweetie. Are you all right?" Lily asked. The three other girls turned around to look at Josie who hadn't said a word since Sirius stormed out. She still had her arms crossed. She was looking down at her lap.

"I'm fine." She said. It sounded as though she were hiding back tears.

"Are you sure? You don't sound fine." Alice pushed.

"I said I'm fine! Just leave me alone, ok?" She said, getting up and running to their dorm room. The four left exchanged worried glances.

"I think I know what's wrong. You guys wait here, I'm going to go talk to her." Lily said and she got up and followed Josie to their dorm. Lily knocked on the door and opened it.

"Josie? Can I talk to you?" Lily asked sweetly. Josie was curled up on her bed, facing the wall. Lily closed the door behind her quietly. She could here Josie sobbing softly on the other side of the room.

"Josie, what's wrong?" Lily asked, sitting down beside Josie, stroking her back to calm her. Josie sniffled loudly and sat up.

"Promise you won't tell?" she sobbingly asked. Lily nodded.

"It's Sirius. He's never…gotten angry with me like that before." Josie wiped a few tears from her eyes. Lily smiled and patted Josie on the arm.

"Oh is that all? Aw, honey. Why are you so upset about that? It's only Sirius."

"Exactly. It's Sirius. I made him angry." Josie said, wiping away more tears.

"I don't understand." Lily pretended to sound confused, but she knew exactly what Josie was saying.

"Come on Lils. Don't try and pretend like you don't know. I really like Sirius. And now he hates me." Josie began sobbing again. Lily hugged her best friend.

"I know you do, Jos. I know you do. I'm sure he doesn't hate you, just give him the rest of the day to calm down. I bet you by tomorrow he'll be back to normal." Josie sniffled again.

"This is so stupid. I don't cry over boys. I never have." Josie sobbed.

"Well maybe this is something special then." Lily suggested. Josie shrugged. "Josie, why do you keep turning Sirius down every time he asks you out? You obviously want to." Lily asked. Josie sat up again.

"It's his reputation. Just like with you and James." Lily laughed and shook her head.

"No it's pure hatred with me and James, Jos. No deeper feeling than that." Josie shrugged.

"Well that's what it is with me. I can't go out with someone with Sirius' reputation. I'd be too worried that I'd end up getting hurt terribly and you can't have a healthy relationship like that. I wish he wasn't such a womanizer." Josie sniffled again. The tears had stopped flowing, but there was still sadness in her eyes. Lily sighed and hugged her friend again.

"Maybe I can get one of the girls or James to talk to him. I know he really wants to be with you, so maybe he'll be willing to change." Lily said, not completely convinced herself.

The next day, the girls were all sitting in the Gryffindor common room when someone climbed in through the portrait hole. Kayla, who had been sitting on the couch with her back to the portrait hole, glanced back to see who it was. When she saw who it was, she twisted herself around to see him.

"Remus." She called. Remus looked up.

"Hey. I heard Josie and Sirius had a bit of a row yesterday over me. I didn't know I was so popular." Kayla smirked and smacked his arm, completely not thinking. When she realized what she had done she gasped and clapped her hand to her mouth.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry. I didn't hurt you did I?" Remus sucked in a deep breath and held his arm tenderly.

"Well the Pixie attacked me pretty badly in that arm." He said mockingly.

"Attacked you? Sirius said it was a disease that caused hives." Josie said. Remus looked slightly disgusted, but quickly masked it.

"Th-the Pixie _disease_ attacked my arm. That's what I meant. I must not be completely well. I'm going to go lay down in my dorm. See you ladies around lunch." Remus said quickly and got up and headed toward the boys' dorm.

"What did you tell them!" Remus asked as he slammed the door shut behind him.

"A Cornish Pixie? Who gets attacked by a Cornish Pixie!" James asked.

"Well apparently I do, or at least they think so! What are you doing telling them that I was diseased!" Remus asked. James shook his head.

"That wasn't me, mate. Talk to Padfoot. He's the one with all the bright ideas." James said, pointing at Sirius, who was still in bed with the sheets pulled over his head.

"So tell me, Sirius. What is this hive inducing disease called? How did I contract such a disease? From a Pixie bite?" Remus asked, folding his arms across his chest. Sirius pulled the sheets down from over his head and looked apologetically at Remus.

"You were kissed." Remus' jaw dropped.

"You told them…I kissed…a Pixie!" Remus asked, sitting down on his bed across from Sirius'.

"Oh, don't worry, mate. I didn't tell them about your disgusting fetish for Pixies. Your secret is safe with us." Sirius said with such calm that it could have convinced anyone, even Remus. He, however, knew that he had no Pixie fetish and chucked a pillow at Sirius.

"So what are you going to do the next time I go missing? Tell them I shagged a hippogriff?" James and Sirius were thrown into fits of laughter.

"That's a good one, mate! I'll have to remember that." Sirius said, receiving another pillow in the face from Remus.

"Hey, don't go getting mad at me. It was Peter who told them you were in the hospital wing. They assumed you had been in the library all day." Sirius explained.

"Peter!" Remus called in the direction of the closed bathroom door. Peter poked his head out.

"What?" he asked.

"Why'd you tell them I was in the hospital wing? What did you think that they would just leave it at that? Nobody just leaves it at that when you say that someone is in the hospital!" Remus said, chucking another pillow at Peter, who ducked behind the door.

"I'm sorry, Remus. It was just…Kayla…she's just so pretty. It sort of just came out." Peter offered his weak excuse. Remus sighed and flopped backwards so he was lying on his bed.

"She's going to think I'm a leper! Why'd you have to say I was diseased?" Remus asked again, not willing to move past it just yet.

"After Peter told them you were in the hospital, I told them you had fallen ill the night before. Then you had to go and say some gobshite about Pixies!" Remus sighed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what they were doing in there and I freaked. I came up with the first excuse I could think of." There was a long silence as Sirius began to drift back off to sleep (being a bit of a bum on weekends). "I guess I'm just going to have to live with being Remus the diseased Pixie lover for the rest of my life." James laughed.

A little later, the girls were still sitting in the common room gossiping and chatting about boys and schoolwork and what not. The Marauders descended the stairs into the common room, James in front, then Peter, then Remus, with Sirius bringing up the rear, stumbling along, still half asleep. When Josie looked up and saw Sirius. She went slightly rigid. Sirius looked over at her and flashed her a smile.

"I'm sorry about yesterday, Jos. I didn't mean to blow up at you like that." Sirius apologized. Josie gave him a stern look and folded her arms.

"Apology accepted." She said firmly. Sirius glanced around the room uncomfortably and then hurried up to catch up with his friends. Lily and Josie smiled at one another once Sirius had left the room.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The rest of the weekend went without any excitement. The Marauders stayed out of the girls' hair. "They're planning something, I know it!" was always Lily's explanation for their absence. The next time the girls saw them was in Potions the next day.

"Everyone, get with your partners." Instructed Professor McDung. Everyone begrudgingly got up and moved to sit beside their partners. Josie sat down and immediately turned her back to Sirius. Lily sat down beside James and crossed her arms, staring dead ahead at the front board. Maggie sat pressed flat against the wall, watching Peter nervously. Kayla sat down and smiled at Remus, who smiled back, and relaxed into her chair.

"How about I take care of adding the ingredients this time." Kayla teased Remus.

"Aww, but it's my goal to blow up the Potions class room. You don't want to ruin my fun, now do you?" Remus whined. He gave her puppy dog eyes. Kayla rolled her eyes.

"Blow up the class room on your own time, but leave it in tact when I'm involved. Especially when my grade is involved." Kayla said. Remus just smiled at her.

"Now would everyone please set up your cauldrons and look up at the board. There is a list of instructions and ingredients for a Shrinking Potion. If the steps are followed correctly, then the subject should shrink." Professor McDung sat down behind his desk and surveyed the class as they began working. After about twenty minutes of silent working, Kayla looked over at Remus, who was quietly chopping up daisy roots for the potion.

"How are your scars?" she asked. Remus looked up at her as if he were petrified.

"Scars? What scars?" he asked nervously.

"F-from the Pixies. Remember?" asked Kayla, taken aback by Remus' sudden forgetfulness.

"Oh that! Oh they're mostly healed. Why? Worried about me?" Remus asked playfully. Kayla chuckled.

"No. Just curious." she said, blushing slightly.

"Oh I don't know about that. You seemed awfully concerned when you saw me in the hospital wing. You must have been a little worried." He said, sliding up next to her. Kayla grinned.

"Concerned and worried are two different things, Remus. Don't go getting any ideas." She said, slipping out of his grip just as he had begun to snake his arm around her waist.

"I fail to see the difference." Remus said, going back to chopping daisy roots. "Can I add these in?" he asked. Kayla didn't see the harm in it, as she was sitting there to supervise and allowed him to do so. Remus scraped in the daisy roots and the cauldron emitted a puff of yellow smoke. Kayla stared at it, anticipating the eruption that never came. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nicely done, Lupin. Now go grab the jar to the left of the asphodel." Kayla instructed. Remus obliged and got up and grabbed a jar. Kayla took the jar from him and measured out the amount of the ingredient and added it to the cauldron. The potion, which was on the right track to being a translucent red, suddenly turned a thick acid shade of green. Kayla and Remus stared at it and began backing away from their table as the potion began to boil and the cauldron rocked back and forth. Before they new it, there was a high tower of bright green potion erupting from the cauldron and showering the classroom. Once the last of the potion settled, Kayla turned and glared at a green Remus.

"What…did you…give me?" she asked through gritted teeth. Remus looked at the bottle.

"Bicorn horn…" Remus stated, knowing that was the wrong ingredient. Kayla turned and looked at the open cabinet of ingredients.

"You got the wrong one." She said, her temper beginning to rise.

"I thought you said the one on the left!" Remus said in a panic.

"I did say the one on the left! You gave me the one on the right!" Kayla yelled as she spun back around to stare Remus in the eye.

"But-" Remus began to argue, but was cut off.

"I was right when I told Mum you weren't to bright." Kayla mumbled as she began to clean the station back up. Remus just watched her for a few moments and then began helping her to clean up.

"Mr. Lupin. Ms. Baxter. Come here please." Professor McDung called from his desk that was splatter with green. Kayla and Remus knew this couldn't be good. "This is the second time you have managed to explode something in my classroom. This is the fourth school I've taught at and never, in all my years of teaching, has any student managed to cover the classroom with slime more than once. I believe detention is in order for the both of you. One week of scrubbing out old cauldrons without magic. Next time you come to class, you might want to pay closer attention to what you're adding to the mixture." Professor McDung said calmly. Kayla had never had detention before, and the thought that her record was now tainted with an undeserved detention made her stomach do tie in a knot. The two walked back to their table to finish cleaning up.

"I hate you." Kayla whispered in Remus' general direction. Remus stared at her, not sure how to react to the statement.

"Why do you hate me?" he asked quietly.

"You did this on purpose. You knew which ingredient I had asked for. You purposely handed me the wrong one." Kayla said, still in shock that her perfect record was now blemished.

"On purpose? I did not do this on purpose! I got mixed up! It's an honest mistake." Remus said, beginning to get annoyed and defensive as Kayla continued to blame the explosion on him.

"Show me one witch or wizard that doesn't know their right from their left!" Kayla stared Remus straight in the eye, her anger and hatred easily readable. The rest of the class stared on as the two argued over who's fault it was.

"Ridiculous! What reason would I have to do something like this on purpose?" Remus asked.

"I don't know, Lupin. You're the Marauder. Why do you pull any of your pranks? Why did you change my hair color the first day? This explosion needs no further explanation than another one of your jokes intended to harm another person. You're just like the other two." Kayla said, not looking him in the eye. Sirius and James watched the two like spectators at a tennis match.

"You're right. This is all my fault. Now you can go home and tell your Mum about how stupid I am and that I'm the biggest jerk in school. You know…I've never hated someone I knew so little about." Remus flicked his wand and the classroom was spotless again. He gathered his belongings and left the class, leaving an angry and hurt Kayla behind.

Later that day, James, Sirius, and Peter found Remus sitting alone in the library. He wasn't reading, he didn't even have a book. He had his foot propped up against the table and was tilting back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest, glaring off into space. The three pulled up chairs and sat beside him.

"You alright, mate?" James asked.

"Peachy." Remus said angrily. James laughed.

"That was a great explosion, Moony! One of your best yet! Did you really do it on purpose? Good job on the timing, right as she was starting to trust you." James pat Remus on the back.

"I didn't do it on purpose, James." Remus said.

"So is that why you're upset? Because you're not good at potions?" Sirius scoffed. "Moony, you've always been crap at potions. Nothing new!" he said, trying to cheer Remus up. Remus shook his head.

"She hates me. Why does she hate me? What reason have I given her to hate me?" Remus asked no one in particular.

"Well, you did turn her hair green. And you offered to help her find her way even though you didn't know yours. Not to mention these lovely explosions." James answered.

"Turning her hair green was your idea. And I can't help that I'm no good at potions. I helped her carry her trunk down the hall because it was too heavy for her! Do I get any credit for that? No! Not to mention I stood up for her when Malfoy called her a mudblood. And for the record, I have plenty of reasons to hate her too, but I don't." Remus ranted.

"You don't hate her?" Sirius asked. Remus' expression softened as he realized what he had said. He didn't hate her.

"No…"he said, not really sure how to explain it even to himself.

"But you said-" James started.

"I know what I said. I was angry. I don't hate her."

"So why don't you go talk to her? I mean, it's just Baxter." Sirius said. Remus shook his head.

"She hates me. No use in trying to change her mind." Remus dropped his foot to the floor and let his chair fall forward.

"Why are you letting what she said get to you? It's not like you like her or anything." James asked. Remus buried his face in his hands.

"Because I think I do like her." He mumbled. Sirius let out a bark of a laugh and James clapped Remus on the back.

"I don't believe it! You like Baxter!" Sirius continued to laugh.

"Announce it to the whole castle why don't you?" Remus said, shooting Sirius an annoyed look.

"I'm sorry, mate. I knew it! I knew you liked her from the moment you met her. It's that look, Moony. I told you, you give her this look. You know which one I'm talking about. It's the exact same one you gave Maggie back in third year." Sirius laughed.

"Hey. Don't talk about that. This is nothing like that." Remus said.

"Why don't you ask her out?" James asked.

"She hates me. We've been through this. And besides…she's part of the 'I Hate the Marauders Club'. We have an ongoing history with them when it comes to being shot down. There's just no point." Remus was thoroughly convinced.

"Yeah and that disease of yours won't help matters much. I mean, who wants to be dating the diseased guy?" Sirius added sincerely. Remus smacked Sirius in the back of the head. James sighed.

"Whatever, mate. Think what you want."

"I'm just glad I don't have to see her other than in class." Remus said.

"You have detention with her for the next week, Moony." Remus groaned and hit his head on the table as he remembered that little detail.

That night, Remus and Kayla met in front of the potions classroom for their detentions. Remus opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off before he could get a sound out.

"It's bad enough I have to clean cauldrons. Don't make it worse by talking." She said as she opened the door to the classroom and headed for the supply closet. After twenty minutes of dirty scrubbing and scouring, Remus finally got up the nerve to say something.

"Follow Quidditch?" he asked casually.

"I much preferred it when it was quiet." Kayla said as if she were talking to herself.

"I'm making an effort here, ok? You said you wanted to try again and be friends, well I'm trying." Remus began to get annoyed.

"Well, that was before you purposefully covered the potions class in green slime and got us both into this mess." Kayla said through gritted teeth. She could feel her temper beginning to flare again.

"Exactly. I got us both into this! If I did that on purpose, I would have done so only you got in trouble. I didn't though, and I don't plan to. I didn't mean to get you into this. And I didn't mean what I said earlier. About hating you…" Remus added. Kayla continued scrubbing a half rusted through cauldron. There was a long moment of awkward silence before Remus spoke up again. "Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked her. Kayla shook her head.

"I don't know what to say, Remus. You know, you and your friends have a reputation in this school and so far you've all lived up to your expectations. I accept your apology, but you haven't given me any reason to take back what I said." She explained to him.

"Don't you ever look outside of what people might expect of you? Did you ever stop to consider that there might be more to my friends and me than pranks?" Remus asked, more than slightly annoyed now.

"Of course. The reputation is just really hard to get passed, though." Kayla said, almost apologetically.

"Whatever, Baxter." Remus said, going back to his scrubbing. "I can't wait for this week to be over." He mumbled under his breath. Once they had finished the night's detention, they walked back to the common room together, mostly in silence, until Remus spoke up somewhere around the Great Hall.

"I'm sorry, again, for getting you into this." He said.

"I know." Kayla said softly.

"Mind if I offer an excuse?" Remus asked, trying to add a bit of humor to the situation.

"I guess so." She was curious to see what he had to offer.

"It was the Pixie." He said sincerely. Kayla laughed.

"Come again?" she said.

"I was still slightly delusional from the Pixie kiss." He said. Kayla laughed again.

"Must have been a good one." She said playfully. Remus chuckled.

"Yeah, swept me right off my feet." He laughed. The two entered the common room, yet again receiving confused stares from the five people that were still awake. The two brushed off the stares, however, to happy with each other's company to care. Remus had just finished saying something that made Kayla laugh when there was a moment of silence between the two. Remus looked down at Kayla, who smiled back up at him. He caught himself staring at her and thought to himself **_She is really cute. I'll give Peter one thing; he has good taste. I'm staring at her and I don't even care. Is this the stare James and Sirius were talking about? _**Kayla clearing her throat drew Remus out of his thoughts. He soon realized that they had stopped walking and were standing, facing each other in the middle of the common room. Kayla was looking away, blushing slightly at the fact that Remus wouldn't stop staring at her like that. She didn't mind the stare too much; it was just awkward.

"Well, I'm off to bed." Remus said. Kayla nodded, the blush leaving her cheeks. "G'night, Kayla." He said.

"Night, Remus." She answered. Remus leaned forward and gave Kayla a quick kiss on the cheek and went off to bed. Kayla didn't move from her spot. She touched her hand to the spot he had kissed in total shock. Before she even had a chance to consider why, a smile crept onto her lips and with a dazed look she headed off to bed.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Hey everyone! I know it's been a long time since I've updated, I apologize for that...I've had a bit of writers block, so this chapter prolly isn't the best yet. Let me know what you think.

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Chapter 8

The next few months went by quicker than anyone could say Quidditch. The highlights of everyone's days were the Hogsmeade trips. James and Sirius tried to get Josie and Lily to go with them to Hogsmeade, like they did every year, but the girls refused, like they did every year. Maggie always went with Amos, however, leaving Kayla, Lily, Josie, and Alice to their own devices. Kayla's first trip to Hogsmeade was an incredible experience. She had only ever been to one all wizarding community before, but it was nothing like this. The girls had lunch at the Three Broomsticks, watching the Goblins argue with Wizards over money and such. The whole town was decorated for Halloween, as the first trip was in October. Over sized jack-o-lanterns guarded every doorstep with a large range of faces that went for silly to terrifying with each new face. Honeyduke's sweet shop was filled to bursting with students eager to stock up on their sweets for the holiday, most bought enough to last them until their next Hogsmeade trip. The girls visited the Shrieking Shack after lunch. Lily explained the story behind the twisted, old, haunted house to Kayla.

"They say it's so haunted that even the Hogwarts ghosts won't go near it. Every so often the towns people can hear the shrieks of the tormented spirits ringing out from the shack. No one's ever been inside." Lily said in a hushed voice.

"I heard Marcus Borland tried to get in once. Made it to the bottom step and passed out." Josie said.

"That's not what I heard. I heard he got to the top step, opened the door and a ghost passed through him and stopped his heart for a few minutes." Alice said.

"Well, I heard that he never even made it passed the front gates." Kayla added in. The girls all laughed.

"Baxter, you have no idea who we're talking about!" Lily said jokingly. Kayla laughed.

"Yeah I know, but that's probably what happened. No one in their right minds would go in there. Sounds like a rumor to me." Kayla said. The girls all agreed.

"We've been inside." Said a male voice from behind them. The girls spun around and saw Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape standing behind them.

"You have not." Said Josie.

"Yes I have." Said Severus. The girls all gave him skeptical looks, except for Alice, who looked intrigued.

"Really? What's it like?" she asked. A slight smirk spread across Severus' face as he began to describe the interior of the shack.

"It's dark and dank inside. The whole house creaks, even without anyone moving inside it. The first thing you see through the front door is a long, narrow, crooked staircase going up the three stories of the house. The floors are all old, rotted wood that looks as if the touch of a feather would send it crumbling. Spider webs and cobwebs cover the ceilings, walls, and railings. Someone used to live in there because there's old furniture in some of the rooms, and pictures hanging on the walls. My theory is that they were muggles because the paintings don't move. In one of the rooms all the furniture has been ripped to shreds. Claw marks and bite marks cover everything from the floor to the ceiling. The windows were all boarded up at one point, but they're broken now." Severus explained in the same hushed tone that Lily had used. Alice was captivated by the story.

"What did it?" she asked in awe.

"A giant beast with sharp fangs and long sharp claws. The house isn't haunted, you see. It's the home to a horrible beast with flaming red eyes. The shrieks the towns people hear are its howls and moans as it rips itself to shreds because it has nothing else to bite and claw at. Dumbledore himself found it. It took an entire fleet of Aurors to lock him up inside the shack. It's a vicious beast that only desires one thing..." Severus paused, loving the attention from his audience. "Human blood." He finished. Alice gasped. Kayla scoffed.

"Please! You expect us to believe that rubbish? You're full of it, Snape." She said.

"Am I? Why don't you go ask your little friend Lupin if I'm so full of it? I'm sure he'll know what I'm talking about. He's experienced the beasts blood lust first hand." He said, the smirk on his face growing wider by the minute. Kayla rolled her eyes.

"I'm too old to believe in this kind of story, Snape. Go peddle your horror stories to some first years." She said and began walking away from the two boys, followed closely by the rest of the girls.

"What did he mean by asking Remus?" Lily asked. Kayla shrugged.

"I'm sure nothing. He's just trying to get under our skin." Kayla concluded.

Of course, the girls never asked Remus about anything Severus had told them, and they never thought about it again. The months past and the weather grew colder and colder by the week as winter drew near. With the cold air, however, came the warm feeling of the winter holidays. Christmas was upon them and everyone was buzzing with excitement as their second Hogsmeade trip took place. This time, to Lily and Josie's great surprise and relief, the boys never asked them to go with them. The girls roamed the town, buying gifts for people here and there. The whole town was covered in snow and decorated for the holidays. Festive hollies and wreaths hung from the doorways. Sprigs of mistletoe followed couples around, getting them to kiss every time they looked up. Kayla loved Christmas. The warm smells, the happy feelings, the gifts. There was nothing to dislike about it. While the girls spent their day leisurely walking through town, the boys were in a rushed frenzy.

"What am I going to get her?" Sirius asked frantically.

"Get her some jewelry. Girls love jewelry." James suggested passively.

"What kind of jewelry? Diamonds? No, too engaging. Costume? No, she's too old for that. Gold? Not everyone likes gold…" Sirius went through all the different kinds of jewelry he could think of.

"How about silver. Most girls love silver jewelry." Remus suggested.

"But what kind should I get her? Necklace? What kind of necklace? Just a pendant? What about a locket? Earrings? I don't know if her ears are pierced. I know! A charmed charm bracelet! I saw them last time we were here. They have ones that play music, others that flash words on them." Sirius began to brighten up a bit as he got closer and closer to the perfect gift for Josie.

"Sounds good, mate. Where'd you see them?" James asked. Sirius thought for a moment and then nearly broke down in tears when he couldn't remember.

"Padfoot, don't panic. There are only so many places in Hogsmeade that sell jewelry. We'll just go to each of them and see if they have the bracelets." Remus suggested. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and followed his two friends to the first of three jewelry shops. After visiting two of them and not finding the bracelet, Sirius began to lose faith in Remus' idea.

"We're never going to find it. What if I saw it at some off the wall place that we'd never think to look in for jewelry? Why didn't I just buy one when I saw it the first time?" Sirius continued to complain. James sighed and pulled out his wand.

"_Silencio_." He said as he hit Sirius with a silencing charm over his shoulder. Sirius glared at his best friend and folded his arms across his chest as they headed toward the third and final jewelry shop. They walked in and the first thing they saw was the bracelets.

"Those are the ones!" Sirius mouthed, but no sound escaped. He shot James a look that could kill, who took the charm off him so he could speak again. "Ok, now which one should I get her?" he asked. Remus and James looked through the different kinds of bracelets. Some played music, others flashed words, and on others the charms moved and interacted with each other. Sirius pulled one off the stand and went to pay for it, leaving James and Remus to look around the shop on their own.

"Going to get Lily anything for Christmas, Prongs?" Remus asked.

"I've thought about it. I've gotten her something every year before and she's never really seemed to like what I give her." James said sadly.

"What have you given her?" Remus asked curious.

"Last year was a box of Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans. The year before that I got her a really big book on Quidditch, I had a really hard time giving that one up." James went on. Remus looked at his friend wide eyed.

"Well no wonder she doesn't like them, mate. Those are all things you want. Get her something she wants instead this year." Remus suggested. James shrugged.

"Alright, I'll try it. But if she doesn't like it then I'm telling all of Slytherin that you kiss Pixies!" James threatened. Remus groaned and rolled his eyes; really wishing his friends would let that one go. "What about you? You and Kayla seem pretty buddy buddy these days. Are you going to get her anything?" James asked.

"Yeah I guess so, something small, though." Remus said, fingering a few necklaces hanging on a rack.

"Why not something romantic? I mean you do like her." James said. Remus whipped around to look at his friend.

"I do not!" he said. James laughed.

"Come on, Moony. Everyone knows it. Well, maybe not Kayla. I swear the pair of you have no perception." James said with a chuckle. Remus sighed, not wanting to argue.

"So what should I get her?" Remus asked.

"Well, that necklace you've been idly playing with is quite nice." James said. Remus looked down at the necklace he hadn't even glanced at and smiled.

"It's perfect." He said, taking it off the rack and heading over to the register.

"Wait! I need a gift too!" James yelled after Remus. "Oh I'm going to look so stupid being the only one not giving a romantic gift." James said, wondering around aimlessly trying to find a decent gift for Lily.

"I hate the holidays." Grumbled an aggravated Sirius who was getting tired of waiting.

"Patience is a virtue, Padfoot." Remus said loud enough for Sirius to hear him, as he was at least five people ahead of Remus.

With the shopping finished and Christmas Day only days away, the Gryffindors decided to participate in their yearly tradition of early gift giving. Kayla, Lily, Alice, and Josie were all sitting in the common room exchanging gifts with one another. They were all laughing and fiddling with their less than expensive knick-knacky gifts they had bought one another.

"I wonder if James got you anything again this year." Josie said to Lily.

"I hope not. He's not very good at gift giving. I remember a few years ago getting a can of Doxie repellent. He had apparently overheard me telling one of you something about a Doxie problem my family was having." Lily said with a chuckle. The memory was pretty funny. As if to answer everyone's questions, that moment the Marauders made their way down the stairs from the boys' dorm room.

"Happy Christmas, everyone!" Sirius shouted for the whole room to hear. A few people returned a less enthusiastic "Happy Christmas" and then carried on with their business. Sirius sat himself down next to Josie and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Josie groaned.

"Black! Really, I'm not in the mood. I'm happy right now and I don't want you to ruin it." She said harshly. Sirius mock pouted and pulled out the box containing her bracelet from his pocket.

"Oh. Well…I was just going to give you this, but…if you really don't want me here." He said, trying to sound as hurt as possible. Josie sighed.

"You got me a present." She said, now starting to feel a little guilty for having treated him so rudely. Sirius nodded. "What is it?" she asked. Sirius sighed and half-heartedly handed her the box.

"I can't remember." He said, still trying to sound hurt. Josie took it and opened it. Her eyes widened and she took in a small gasp, taking the charmed charm bracelet out of the box. He had chosen one in which the charms interacted with one another. They were birds, all different kinds of birds that moved their metallic wings as if they were flying and tweeted quietly at one another. Josie sat staring at the bracelet, not quite sure what to say.

"Sirius…it's…thank you!" she barely managed to get out. Sirius smirked.

"Sirius, huh? What happened to Black?" he asked teasingly.

"Try not to be a git for just one moment, Black. I'm enjoying my moment." Josie said, still looking at the bracelet. Sirius smiled and took the bracelet from her and wrapped it around her wrist.

"I'll try not to be a git…for you." he said softly. Josie looked up from her hand, which he was holding gently in his, and stared into his stormy gray eyes. She saw something in them that she had never seen before. Sincerity. She thought about it for a moment and came to the conclusion that this was exactly what she wanted. She realized that she liked having him sit next to her, having her hand in his, staring into his eyes. She was so afraid that his presence would ruin her good mood, but it became quite clear to her that it only made her even happier. Before she could even stop to think about what she was doing, she leaned forward timidly, closing her eyes, waiting for that first kiss. Sirius took the opportunity and took her lips in his. It was perfect. Everything either of them had ever dreamed of and more. Lily, Alice, and Kayla stared on in shock, none sure how to react. After the initial shock of the kiss had past, Josie leaned against Sirius, who wrapped his arm around her waist for the first time without being yelled at. He rather liked that feeling.

"Merry Christmas!" Said Lily, still in total shock. The rest of the group laughed.

"While we're on the subject of gift giving," said Remus, sitting down next to Kayla, "I have something I want to give you." he said with a grin.

"Remus you shouldn't have. I didn't get you anything." Kayla said. Remus shrugged.

"It was my pleasure." He said, handing her the box. Kayla untied the white ribbon around the box and opened it. Her reaction was much the same as Josie's. She gasped slightly and held her hand over her mouth. She pulled the necklace out of the box and held up a beautiful sterling silver flower oval locket on a silver chain. Remus took it from her and latched it around her neck.

"This must have cost you a fortune!" Kayla exclaimed. Remus chuckled.

"Only a small one, but it was worth it. Do you like it?" he asked. Kayla laughed.

"Like it? I love it! Thank you." she said, giving him a small peck on the cheek. Remus blushed, but turned his head to hide it from Kayla.

"My turn!" James exclaimed, getting up and walking behind Lily. Lily looked apprehensively at her friends and then up at James, who was leaning over the back of the couch.

"James you didn't have to…_really_." She said with all sincerity on the last word.

"Yeah, but I wanted to." He said, handing her a box that looked like the ones that Sirius and Remus had given Kayla and Josie. She hesitantly took the box and opened it, looking as if she were bracing herself for something to jump out at her. When nothing did, she looked down into the box and let her jaw drop to the floor. Inside was a pair of 18-karat white gold emerald earrings.

"Oh my God." She said breathlessly.

"They reminded me of your eyes. I hope you like them." He said, leaning over the couch to give her a kiss on the cheek.

"James…how did you…you don't give good gifts!" Lily said bluntly without really realizing it. James, choosing to put aside his slightly hurt feelings, walked around the couch and sat in an armchair across from Lily.

"Well, I was with Remus and Sirius and they were getting their girls something nice, so I figured it would probably be something you would like." He answered. Lily gaped at the earrings and then smiled sweetly at James.

"Thank you, James. I love them." She said. James smiled to himself, satisfied with his gift, but really hoping for the same reaction Sirius had gotten from Josie. The group stayed up late that night, even with classes in the morning, Sirius and Josie snogging on the couch while James, Lily, Remus, Kayla, and Alice all talked the night away.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** I was really excited about this chapter. I'm really excited about the next chapter. I had hoped to have them up by Valentine's Day, but seeing as how it is now the 24th, I kinda missed that deadline lol. The last chapter just took too long to write and I don't believe in half heartedly writing a chapter that I don't really want to write just so that I can get to one that I do. Well, I hope you like it. I think it's one of my longer chapters. Review and let me know what you think.

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Chapter 9

"A dance? Brilliant!" Shouted a third year girl in the Gryffindor common room. Kayla and Lily had just walked in through the portrait hole and saw a small crowd around a message board.

"What's going on?" Lily asked Josie who had just pushed her way out of the crowd.

"We're going to have a Valentine's Day ball! It's for third years through seventh years only!" Josie said, smiling brightly. Lily and Kayla both looked at each other. "What?" Josie asked, feeling out of the loop.

"A dance…that means James is going to ask me…and he won't stop until I say yes and he'll stop anyone else from asking me as well, so I'm eventually going to have to say yes. I don't want to go to a dance with him." Lily said sadly.

"What about you?" Josie asked.

"Same with Remus, I'm afraid. I don't mind him, I just don't want rumors to be spread." Kayla said. Josie huffed.

"You two are no fun! It's a bloody dance! Be happy!" Josie said with a huge grin on her face. Kayla and Lily both groaned.

"I guess you're going to go with Sirius." Kayla said to Josie. Josie nodded excitedly.

"He's already asked me, like he had to! It's going to be so romantic!" Josie said, bouncing off to the girls' dorm. Kayla and Lily followed sluggishly behind her.

The next morning during breakfast, Dumbledore directed all the students' attention up to him.

"I have one quick announcement today before I send you off to your classes this morning. As you all know, we have a dance coming up in two weeks. Due to this, we will be having an unscheduled trip to Hogsmeade for all students, third year and above, to prepare for the occasion. It will be a formal ball, so young ladies will need evening gowns and young gentlemen will be required to wear tuxedoes. There will be an announcement posted in each of the dorms with more detail. If you have any further questions, see your house heads or a prefect. Now off to classes with you." Dumbledore released all the students from the Great Hall. All of the older students were chatting animatedly about the dance while the younger students complained about why they always get left out.

The girls were all heading into their Transfiguration class when someone grabbing their arms stopped Lily and Kayla.

"Go to the dance with me." James said, he sounded as if he had run the whole way to Transfiguration.

"No." Lily said flatly.

"Please. Please please please." James begged. Lily sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Alright, I'll go. But only because I know you won't stop hounding me until I say yes." She explained to him. James grinned like mad.

"Whatever you say, love." He said, patting her on the shoulder and walking into the classroom. Lily cringed at what James had called her.

"Does he insist on treating me like his girlfriend?" Lily asked. Kayla laughed.

"I think it's kind of cute. He's obviously very keen on you." She said teasingly. Lily rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm a challenge. The one he couldn't have so now he wants me." Lily said matter of factly. Remus shook his head.

"I don't think so, Lils. He's been like this for years now. He's a stubborn person, but not that stubborn. I think he's serious about you." Remus said. Lily watched James talking to Sirius and Josie in the classroom. Her gaze drifted to Sirius and Josie. Josie was sitting in front of Sirius, leaning against his chest with his arm wrapped around her waist. Josie had a bright smile on her face and was laughing along with what the boys were saying.

"I've never seen either of them so happy. You know, Josie used to think the same about Sirius." Kayla said after having followed Lily's gaze. Lily shook her head.

"I don't care how happy they are. If that were all that was between James and I, then that would be a different story. I don't just resent what he thinks I am. I hate him. He's not my friend and he's not a potential boyfriend." Lily said. She seemed to have herself convinced, but Kayla wasn't so sure. Remus cleared his throat.

"Lily, mind if I borrow Kayla for a moment? I promise I'll give her back." Remus asked, taking Kayla's hand and walking away with her.

"Way to wait for an answer, Lupin. What if it hadn't been ok?" Kayla asked with a grin. Remus shrugged.

"She'll get over it. So, Baxter…Have a date to the dance?" he asked. Kayla laughed.

"How did I know you were going to ask that?" she asked. Remus shrugged and smiled.

"Women's intuition, perhaps?" He suggested. Kayla laughed.

"Possibly. No, Remus, I don't have a date." She answered, seeing that he was getting slightly impatient.

"Would you do me the great honor in going with me? As friends, of course." He added the last bit, knowing full well that would be the only way to get her to go.

"I'd say yes knowing that we're only going as friends, but the rest of the school won't know that. I really don't want rumors started about us dating." She said. Remus got a mischievous grin on his face and held up his hand.

"Say no more, Baxter, say no more. I'll take care of the rumor problem." He said and then walked off into the classroom. Kayla stood in the hallway, a little worried about what he had in mind, and then followed Remus into the classroom.

The two weeks before the dance passed quickly for some and slowly for others. Josie, who couldn't wait for the dance, became very impatient. But for Kayla and Lily, however, the dance couldn't have come sooner. The girls were all up in their dorm getting ready for the dance, putting on the gowns they had bought at Hogsmeade the weekend before. Lily and Josie were in the bathroom doing their hair and make up while Kayla, Maggie, and Alice were in the bedroom changing behind the bed curtains. James, Sirius, Remus, and Amos all stood around waiting for their dates in the common room, corsages in hand.

"What the bloody hell is taking them so long?" Sirius asked impatiently pacing the room. Remus sat on the couch staring at the fire, patiently waiting for the moment when he would see Kayla's slender form descend the stairs into the common room. James stood leaned up against the wall beside the bottom step to the girls' dorms; passively playing with the corsage he had bought for Lily in Hogsmeade.

"OI! Girls! Coming down tonight?" James yelled up the stairs, starting to get impatient himself.

"Bugger off, Potter! We'll be ready in a minute!" Came Lily's aggravated voice from the top of the stairs. James through his arms up in the air in submission and moved over to the couch and sat next to Remus.

"I swear there is absolutely no patience with you two. Just remember, the longer they take, the better they'll look." Remus said.

"Oi! My Josie couldn't look better if she took all night." Sirius said, pointing a finger at Remus threateningly. Remus laughed, but stopped as he received a smack in the back of the head from Sirius. Just as the boys were beginning to bite at each other's throats, the first of the girls descended the stairs. First it was Maggie, who said her hellos and good-byes to the boys quickly and left the common room to find her boyfriend. Next was Alice, who looked as if she were faking her good mood. She flashed the boys a smile.

"Well, best be off then." She said with a cheery sadness. Just as she began to walk out of the common room, she stopped when someone called her name.

"Alice! Wait!" Alice turned around and saw none other than Frank Longbottom running up after her, dressed in a very nice tuxedo and holding a corsage. "I never got the chance to ask you before, but would you like to be my date to the dance?" he asked. Alice beamed and nodded her head and made a bizarre squeaking noise. Frank smiled and locked arms with Alice, leading her down to the Great Hall. Just as Alice and Frank left the common room, the three Marauders were thrown out of their thoughts and petty arguments by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. The first to emerge was Lily. James promptly jumped up from the couch when he set eyes on her.

Lily wore a full-length, blood red halter dress. The color offset her hair which was done up in a braided bun with a black ribbon hanging down. James' vision was drawn from her dress to her ears, which sparkled green at him. Lily was wearing the earrings that James had bought her for Christmas. Lily smiled brightly when she saw the boys' reaction to her dress and did a model spin revealing a low cut, open back. The tie hung down to the middle of Lily's back. She hiked up the bottom of her dress revealing black, closed toed high heels with criss-cross straps half way up her foot and the buckle around her ankle.

"Wow. You clean up well, Evans." Said James. Lily continued to smile brightly.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Potter. Have your mother over to dress you?" she asked with a smirk.

"Perhaps we can do without the open hostility for one night. We're supposed to be having fun." James said, moving closer to her and slipping the corsage onto her wrist. Lily nodded.

"Agreed. I apologize for that last comment. Let's go have some fun, shall we?" Lily said. Smiling at each other, the two linked arms and headed for the door. After the two had left, Sirius and Remus exchanged hopeful glances about their dates. Josie was the next to descend into the common room.

"Bloody hell!" Sirius gasped when he saw his girlfriend. Josie's dress was full-length strapless and faded from a light coral to a light yellow. Her shoes were open toed, clear beaded high-heeled sandals. Her hair long raven black hair was down and had loose curls at the end. On her wrist was the bracelet Sirius had given her, which she hardly ever took off (hardly meaning showers and Potions class).

"Do I get the Black seal of approval?" she asked with a smile.

"I'm sorry, Miss. We don't approve young ladies of your standard. There are higher authorities for you to address for women of your beauty." He said, walking up and wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him and kissing her softly.

"Well then, I guess I should find someone else to go with." She said playfully and not at all convincingly.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that's impossible. You see, I've had all other potential prospects killed just in case." Sirius said, a bit more seriously than Josie would have liked, but she ignored it. She wrapped an arm around Sirius' neck and kissed him again. "Shall we?" he asked, offering her his arm to take. Josie nodded and latched onto Sirius' arm and the two left the common room, leaving Remus all alone.

Not after too long, more footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. Remus glanced over to see who it was and swallowed hard when he saw his date standing at the bottom of the stairs. Kayla wore a full-length, black halter-top dress, which had four short rhinestone straps going across the front. She smirked when she saw Remus' look of utter shock. She did a model spin, sending the bottom of her dress flowing outwards slightly, and revealed an open back with three long rhinestone straps going across her lower back. Her hair was twisted upwards and clipped so that the ends, which were in large waves, fell over the twist. Her shoes were open toed, black, high-heeled sandals with a rhinestone buckle around her ankle and a thin rhinestone strap across her foot. Remus looked around her neck and saw the glistening shape of the locket he had bought her for Christmas. Kayla smiled brightly and walked over to her date, who seemed to be glued to the spot.

"Is that for me?" she asked, pointing to the corsage in Remus' hands, snapping Remus out of his shock.

"Oh! Yeah, of course! Sorry." He said with a slight laugh. He slipped the corsage onto her wrist and kissed her cheek. "You look unbelievable." He said breathlessly. Kayla blushed.

"I'm sure it's believable." She said bashfully. Remus shook his head.

"No, no. It's quite unbelievable. I doubt you could even believe how amazing you look." Kayla laughed.

"Stop it, Lupin. You're making me blush. Come on, we'll miss the party." She said, locking arms with Remus and leaving the common room. The two entered the Great Hall and took a look around. The enchanted ceiling showed a perfectly clear night sky, which Kayla swore that you could pick out every star in the sky. A beautiful quarter moon showed brightly above them. The stars and moon alone seemed to light the entire hall. The music had already started up and couples were dancing cheek to cheek. Remus took Kayla's moment of absent-mindedness and leapt on top of the nearest table, drawing many eyes to him. Kayla, noticing the focus of the hall changing, turned to see what everyone was looking at. She gasped when she saw Remus standing on the table, asking everyone to be quiet.

"May I have your attention please?" he asked loudly. When he was satisfied with the number of eyes on him, he continued. "I would just like to clear up an rumors that might start around about me and my date tonight. We are not a couple, we are here as friends. Carry on." He said, hopping down from the table. There were a few confused murmurs, but most people shrugged and went back to dancing. Remus walked back up to Kayla, smiling mischievously.

"You had the planned the whole time, didn't you?" she asked. She was now highly embarrassed and felt like every eye in the room was on them. Remus laughed and nodded.

"That's what I call an entrance. Well done, mate." Said Sirius, who had dragged Josie off the dance floor to greet their friends. Kayla was still blushing profusely.

"That wasn't funny, Lupin." Kayla said, unconvincingly. Remus embraced her in a quick hug. Kayla took in a deep breath and her senses were filled with his cologne. _Merlin's beard! He smells incredible. He looks great tonight, too. I can't wait for a slow dance. WAIT! Kiki! This is Lupin you're thinking about! **Oh he's not that bad.**_ Chimed a second voice, which sounded a lot like her mother's. _Don't be ridiculous. I'm not interested in guys. Besides, he's already bad enough for my Potions grade without me dating him. I do wish he had hugged me for a bit longer, though. STOP IT! _The second voice in Kayla's head let out a laugh. _**Dear girl. It seems you and the one you desire are the only ones who don't see it. Give it time. You'll see it too.** See what? I don't like him. **Oh yes you do, sweetie. **No I don't!_

"You didn't have to shout, Baxter. If you didn't want a drink, all you had to do was say so." Said Remus. Kayla snapped out of her thoughts and realized that she had said the last part out loud.

"What? Oh, no, I wasn't talking to you. I'd love a drink." She said. Remus gave Kayla a strange look then left to get their drinks. Kayla's face was now the same shade as Lily's dress. Coming fully out of her thoughts, she realized that Lily and James had also joined them.

"Has anyone seen Alice?" Josie asked. Kayla shook her head.

"James and I saw her and Frank dancing a little while ago. They seemed pretty content with each other." Said Lily with a grin.

"Oh that's great! Seems everyone but the four of us are hooking up." Said Kayla taking the drink that Remus had just come back with. Kayla sipped it slowly as the music for the next slow dance began playing. Sirius took Josie back out onto the dance floor, as did James with Lily. Kayla placed her cup down on the table they were standing next to.

"Care for a dance?" Remus asked her with the most charming smile she had ever seen. She smiled back at him and obliged, with little hesitation, and joined everyone else on the dance floor. About half way through the song, Remus pulled Kayla closer to her and gently placed her head on his shoulder. He had one hand around her waist and was drawing small circles in the middle of her back while he held her other hand in his. Kayla held Remus' shoulder and was biting her nail. _Ok. I admit it. I wanted this. I've wanted to be close to him like this for a long time. But I can't like him. I just can't. It's not just my work, but I've never dated before. What if he thinks I'm a total idiot? What if there are some rules for dating that I haven't heard before? If he asks…_but Kayla was never able to finish that thought as Remus tried to get her attention.

"Kayla. Can I talk to you about something?" he asked. There was something in his voice. Kayla swore he was nervous. She lifted her head off his shoulder and looked him in the eye, a gaze that he quickly avoided.

"Sure." She said, very curious as to what he wanted.

"Well…it's nothing important, really. It's just that ever since I met you at James' house, I'd have to admit that I've been dreaming of this moment. Quite literally, actually. And…it's just that…well…I want you to be…my girlfriend." He said, very nervously. Kayla searched his eyes for the least bit of sanity.

"Girlfriend? Are you mad? I've been nothing but horrible and sarcastic and rude to you ever since we met! You want me to be your girlfriend?" she asked incredulously. Remus looked taken aback and tried to find anything other than her to stare at.

"Well, lately you haven't been. I-" Remus started, but Kayla cut him off.

"Remus, we're just friends. Nothing more." Remus let go of his grip on her and took a step back. His face slowly went from embarrassed to hurt and angry. He could feel his heart being shattered into thousands of tiny little pieces. Kayla couldn't believe it. She couldn't keep lying to herself anymore. _Why did you say no? You know you wanted to say yes! Look at him…you've killed him. **I told you to just give it time.**_ Said the voice that sounded like her mother. _I did and I realized what I wanted, and now I'll never be able to have it. He'll never forgive me._ Kayla stared deep into Remus' hurt and angry eyes and felt her own eyes begin to sting as they welled up with tears. "Remus, I-" she began, but was unable to finish.

"No, it's alright, Baxter. No need to explain. I get it. We're just friends. I can respect that. I just wish I had found that out before I made a complete idiot out of myself." He said and before Kayla could say anything else he stormed out of the Great Hall. Kayla stood alone in the middle of the dance floor, unable to move or think. When she gained back a little control over her body, she shakily made her way off the dance floor and sat down at the table Remus had jumped up on at the beginning of the dance. Lily and Josie had seen the reaction to an argument they knew nothing about, and hurried over to a now silently sobbing Kayla.

"Kayla? What happened? Where did Remus go?" Lily asked.

"I have a feeling we're not going to be seeing much of each other anymore." She said as she began twisting the locket in her fingers.

"What happened?" Josie repeated Lily's question sweetly.

"He…" But Kayla was unable to bring herself to say it. Her eyes welled up again and she got up, leaving Lily and Josie completely in the dark, and left the Great Hall. Kayla closed the large oak doors behind her and leaned up against the wall. She stared blankly at the wall on the other side of the dark hallway, trying to gather her thoughts and emotions. Her eyes welled up again with more force than they had before.

"I should have said yes." She said, choking back the tears that threatened to fall. She found that she could no longer hold them and the heavy tears began spilling out of her eyes and onto her cheeks. She slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor and there she remained. Crying until there were no tears left to cry. At that point she stood up and slowly made her way back to the common room. She desperately hoped that it would be empty.

The portrait swung open revealing the hole and she climbed through. Her mind was buzzing, but with only one thought, one question. _Why did I say no?_ She kept asking herself, but no answer ever came. She took a look around the common room and found that it was empty. She looked up at the staircase leading to the boys' dorms, wondering what Remus was doing. She sat down in one of the large overstuffed armchairs in front of the fire. She curled up into a little ball like she used to do when she was little and mad at her parents for something, and fell asleep.

The next morning, Kayla opened her eyes and looked around. After taking a moment to remember where she was, she slowly stood up off the chair, her legs and back cramping from sleeping in the same position all night. She stretched and then the memory of the previous night hit her. She slid back down into the chair, feeling a new wave of guilt and anger with herself.

"Morning, sunshine." Said a male voice from behind her. Kayla sat up in the chair and looked over the back to find Sirius sitting alone at one of the tables at the back of the room. The look of curiosity melted off of Kayla's face and she slid back down in her chair. _Did it have to be Remus' best friend?_ Kayla asked herself.

"Morning, Sirius." She mumbled back.

"Sounds like you and Moony had quite a night last night." Sirius said, getting up from the table and sitting on one of the couches next to Kayla's chair.

"Yes, and I'd ask you to not mention it, please. I already feel horrible so you can go back upstairs and tell your old buddy Remus that he didn't need to send you down here to berate me." Kayla said quietly.

"He didn't send me, Baxter. I wanted to talk to you." he said.

"Well, I don't really feel like talking if it's all the same to you." she said, staring blankly at the fire that had been rebuilt during the night by one of the castle's house elves.

"Are you sure? I've heard talking helps. I'll be your psychiatrist for the morning" Sirius pushed. Kayla sighed and turned so that she was sitting with her feet up on the chair.

"Alright, Dr. Black. What do you want to talk about?" she asked. Sirius leaned back on the couch.

"Well I really just wanted to apologize. You see, I don't think Moony would have asked you if it hadn't been for me." Kayla looked at him confusedly.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"James and I sort of pushed Remus to do it. You see, we saw how you two looked at each other; how you two got on…we figured it was the thing to do. We thought there was no way you'd say no." Kayla shook her head.

"Classic case of a cocky Marauder. Is that why you asked Josie out in December?" Kayla asked accusingly.

"No, I had been turned down by Josie enough times to know that the chances that she'd say yes were slim to none." Sirius explained. Kayla nodded her understanding. There was a moment of silence before Sirius broke it with a question Kayla knew would come eventually and she would have to answer it. "Why did you say no?" he asked. Kayla thought for a moment, trying to find the real reason why she said no.

"I could make up some excuse and tell you that I really don't like him that way, but that's not true. Or I could tell you that I'm just so used to saying no to guys asking me out that I just naturally turned him down and, while that's more true than my first excuse, it's not entirely true either. I guess I was scared. I didn't know he liked me that way and I wasn't expecting it. I panicked. Needless to say, I regretted it later. I just wish I could tell him that." She said.

"I don't think you're going to get that chance. He seems pretty upset." Sirius said. Kayla nodded sadly, fully aware that Remus may never speak to her again. After another long moment of silence, Sirius stood up and stretched.

"Well, I best leave you to your thoughts. See you around, Baxter." He said and walked away. Kayla sighed and got up and went to her dorm. There she was met by hugs and questions of "Are you alright?" and "What happened?" Kayla explained what had happened the night before, this time without tears. She wasn't sure if she would ever be able to cry again, feeling like her eyes were completely dried up. She changed her clothes and washed her face and then the four girls went down to breakfast together and spent the afternoon together doing girly stuff and talking about the other girls' more pleasant evenings. Kayla only paid attention to about half of what was being said, however. She was more intent on dreading the Potions class that was coming up in two days.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Kayla spent the whole weekend with her friends, not saying much, but glad to have been given something else to think about for a couple of days before she had to return to her normal school life and Potions class, which she dreaded going to.

Kayla awoke the next morning after a nearly sleepless night. All she could think about was seeing Remus for the first time since the dance. She got dressed and went down to breakfast, alone, seeing as it was very early and the rest of the girls still had an hour before they had to be up. She opened the doors to the Great Hall and found it lightly spotted with the early risers and a few teachers. Kayla glanced around the room and her eyes landed on a single body at the Gryffindor table, playing with a bowl of oatmeal. It was Remus. Kayla debated talking to him as she slowly began to walk towards him.

"Good morning, Remus." Kayla said sweetly and quietly. Remus looked up at her with brooding eyes and then back down at his oatmeal. All Kayla wanted to do after seeing Remus was slam him against a wall and kiss him with all the love she had for him. All she wanted was for him to know how she felt. When he didn't say anything, Kayla walked down to the opposite end of the table and sat down. She picked up a piece of toast and began tearing pieces off of it, having no intention of actually eating it. Remus took a few glances down at her, debating if he should talk to her. He kept remembering how great it felt to hold her in his arms while they were dancing. He couldn't believe they only got to dance together once, but it was the best two minutes of his entire life. He began to wonder if he had the right to be angry with her. When he finally decided that he didn't, he turned to say something to her and found that she had abandoned her toast and left the Great Hall. He sighed and went back to poking at his oatmeal with his spoon.

Kayla later met her friends in their first class of the day, Charms. Lily and Josie walked in together and saw Kayla sitting in her usual seat waiting for them, looking really down. The two girls wondered for a moment what was wrong when an impatient Remus shoved passed them and went to his usual seat at the back of the class where Sirius, James, and Peter were waiting for him. Lily and Josie sat down.

"Did you speak to him?" Josie asked. Kayla half nodded.

"Was that a yes or a no?" Lily said, trying to add some humor to the situation.

"I said hello to him this morning at breakfast, but he barely even looked at me." She said gloomily. Lily sucked her teeth and gave Kayla a hug.

"What's she so upset about? She did this to me, or doesn't she remember?" Remus asked, watching the three girls talking.

"You should talk to her, mate. You'll probably be happy you did." Sirius pushed. Remus shook his head.

"I don't want to talk to her. Too embarrassing. I can't believe I made such a complete arse out of myself!" Remus chided himself. He rubbed his forehead and sat back in his chair, still watching the three girls.

"Why are you so upset? You turned him down." Josie said.

"He won't speak to me." Kayla said sadly.

"So what? It's obviously something you didn't want, and if he can't understand that, then forget him. He's not worth the effort." Josie tried to comfort her friend. Kayla buried her face in her hands.

"It's not something I didn't want." She mumbled through her palms. Lily and Josie looked at each other.

"Pardon?" Lily asked. Kayla looked up and sighed.

"I didn't want to say no." she said quietly, just loud enough that Josie and Lily could hear. Both their jaws dropped and they turned back to look at Remus, who quickly looked away and acted like he was deep in conversation with Peter. They turned back around to talk to Kayla.

"You like him?" Lily asked she seemed almost excited. Kayla nodded.

"That's fantastic!" Josie exclaimed. Kayla gave her a look like she was mad. "No, really! You two are really close friends, you get along fairly well normally, and I was watching you two dancing. Can we say adorable?" Josie continued. Kayla chuckled.

"Don't go planning our wedding, Jos. We're not speaking, remember?" Kayla said. Josie nodded.

"I know, but I think I have a plan to get him to talk to you again. You have Potions tomorrow, don't you?" Josie asked. Kayla nodded.

"Great! Give me the rest of today to figure some things out and I'll tell you tomorrow at breakfast." Josie said excitedly. Kayla and Lily exchanged worried glances and then turned to the front of the room as Professor Flitwick came in and started class.

Every second of Josie's free time was spent in the library. Lily and Kayla spent their time in the common room, throwing out ideas as to what Josie might be doing. Frankly, they were more than a little worried.

"Where the bloody hell is my girlfriend?" shouted in frustrated Sirius as he came through the portrait hole into the common room.

"She's been in the library in between every class since this morning." Kayla answered.

"She didn't bother telling me this?" Sirius asked. Lily shrugged.

"You know her, Black. If she gets excited about something, it's all secrets until she's finished." Lily said. Sirius sighed and headed off to bed as it was getting late and they had classes in the morning. Kayla and Lily decided they didn't want to wait for Josie anymore and followed Sirius' example.

The next morning, Kayla and Lily went down to breakfast alone. Josie hadn't returned from the library as far as they could tell (her side of the dorm was always a mess, not even the house elves bothered to clean it, so they couldn't tell if she had come to bed or not), Alice and Frank were now a happy couple and spent all their time together, as did Maggie and Amos, who were in a separate house anyway. The two girls sat down at the opposite end of the same table the Marauders were sitting at. Again, Remus took to pushing his breakfast around and taking glances at Kayla. Kayla didn't even bother grabbing a slice of toast this morning. She still felt like total shite for what happened at the dance. A few moments after the girls sat down, Josie came rushing up to them.

"I have a perfect plan!" she said. She hurriedly explained her plan to the other two girls in a hushed voice, so no one else could hear her. Kayla's hopes soon began to rise as the plan became more and more perfect.

Later that day, Kayla got to Potions very early so that she was sure that she would be there before Remus. She had been waiting for this class all day, because it meant that Remus would have to acknowledge her presence and maybe even talk to her. The whole class began to file in, a few people here and there coming in and sitting down. None of them, however, was the one person Kayla wanted to see the most. Remus finally walked in just as the bell was beginning to ring. He slid past Kayla and sat down in his seat, edging all the way over to the wall. Kayla looked over at him and could tell that Remus was desperately trying to avoid eye contact as he stared dead ahead at the chalkboard.

"Good afternoon, class." Said Professor McDung. There were a few mumbles of "good afternoon" from the rest of the class before he continued. "I have received permission from Professor Dumbledore to teach the class a love potion, in light of St. Valentine's Day this past weekend. Now, don't be fooled. This is no simple potion. We will also be testing it. One of you will take the potion and the other will view the reactions. I will be standing by with the antidote and administer it before things get out of hand, so please wait to drink the potion until I have given you express permission to do so. You may begin." Professor McDung flicked his wand and the instructions were written out on the chalkboard by the enchanted chalk. Kayla turned to Remus.

"Why don't you get the ingredients and I'll set up-" she started to say, but before she was able to finish Remus had gotten up and headed for the ingredients cabinet. Kayla sighed and began setting up the equipment. He returned and harshly began chopping and mashing ingredients to be measured and added to the potion. Kayla didn't bother trying to talk to him; she knew it was no good. When they had finished brewing their potion, Kayla raised her hand and Professor McDung came over.

"Congratulations, Mr. Lupin and Ms. Baxter. A whole class without blowing something up. Have you followed the directions exactly?" he asked. They both nodded. "Excellent. Now who will be consuming the potion?" he asked. Kayla glanced over at Remus, who looked away.

"I will, Professor." Kayla said.

"Very well." He said and handed her a spoon. Kayla dipped her spoon into the potion and timidly placed it to her lips, letting the warm liquid slide down her throat. Remus sat back in his chair, trying to act uninterested and biting his nail. Kayla looked over at him after swallowing the potion and took his hand. Remus looked down at his hand and then up at Kayla, who was smiling slightly. She pulled on his hand and brought him closer to her. Remus began to get worried and a little nervous.

"Professor! The antidote! I think we can agree the potion was a success!" he said, now starting to panic as Kayla drew him closer and closer to her. Professor McDung fumbled with the antidote and, just as Kayla closed her eyes and was about to kiss a panicking Remus, slipped a spoonful of the antidote into her mouth. Kayla opened her eyes and looked straight into Remus'. He was breathing deeply and stared straight back. Before Remus had time to react, Kayla closed her eyes again and pulled him the rest of the way by his collar and kissed him gently on the lips. Remus went rigid for a matter of seconds, and then relaxed into the kiss, placing his hand behind her head to pull her closer.

"Merlin's beard! The antidote must be faulty. Someone restrain Ms. Baxter while I go and get another bottle." Professor McDung said. Neither Lily nor Josie moved, to James and Sirius' great surprise. The two girls just sat watching Kayla and Remus with sly grins on their faces. After a few moments, James finally decided that he was going to have to be the one to restrain her, and did so. James broke the kiss as he pulled Kayla back a few feet from Remus.

"You can let go of me, James." Kayla said, not taking her eyes off of Remus'. The look in his eyes was desire and a little bit of sadness. He knew it was only the potion making her do this, but he had wanted to kiss her for such a long time.

"I don't think so. Not until Professor McDung gets back with the antidote." James said. Kayla laughed and shook her head, still not taking her eyes off of Remus'. He couldn't read her. Remus couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"I don't need an antidote. The potion doesn't work." She said. Remus looked at her confusedly. James loosened his grip enough that it was no challenge for Kayla to free her arm. Once it was freed, she reached down into her back and pulled out a jar of frozen Ashwinder eggs, a key ingredient to the potion. Remus looked at the jar wide eyed. "I didn't add it." She said softly, still looking Remus in the eye. Professor McDung hurried in just as Kayla was slipping the jar back into her bag. He gave her a spoon full of the antidote and she sat back in her chair and acted as if nothing had happened.

"Excellent job on the potion." He said breathlessly, returning to his desk to record the grade. Remus watched Kayla, begging her to look at him with his eyes. Was it true? Could she have really kissed him of her own free will? Remus had a hard time believing it after she had turned him down at the dance. Kayla finally looked over at him and gave him a half smile.

"Did you…?" Remus started, but trailed off. He wasn't really sure what he wanted to ask her.

"We'll talk after class." Kayla whispered. She looked over at Lily and Josie and smiled.

"What's going on? Did I miss something?" Sirius asked Josie, who was leaning against his chest with his arm around her waist. Josie laughed and shook her head. Kayla waited anxiously for the bell to ring to dismiss the class. When it finally did, Remus jumped up from his seat and stood outside the door, waiting for Kayla's explanation. Kayla slowly stood up and looked at her friends anxiously.

"No time like the present." She said and headed off to talk to Remus.

"Good luck!" Lily shouted back at her.

"Good luck with what?" James asked. Lily laughed and shook her head. James and Sirius looked at each other.

"I hate secrets." Sirius said and they both nodded.

Outside in the hallway, Kayla looked Remus in the eye and then began walking away.

"Wait! Hold on! I think I deserve an explanation for what just happened in there! Was that some sort of prank? Are you leading me on? Cause I don't need this, Baxter." Remus nearly shouted. Kayla turned around and sighed.

"No…to all of the above. I don't want to talk here. Lets find somewhere more private." Kayla said, not sure where that was.

"I know just the place." Remus answered. He took Kayla's hand and led her off to an area of school she had never been to before. When they had gotten to where Remus wanted to go, he stood her off to the side and paced back and forth in front of a section of wall three times. Kayla watched in confusion and laughed.

"What are you doing?" she asked. Suddenly, a door appeared in the wall where Remus had been pacing. He looked back at her and grinned, then took her hand again and led her into the room. He opened the door and revealed a cozy little room with a couch, a warm fire, and a pot of tea with two mugs.

"Have a seat." He said, gesturing for Kayla to sit down on the couch. Kayla sat down and looked around the room.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"This would be the Room of Requirements. The four of us found it last year." He said, pouring himself and Kayla some tea. He handed her the tea and sat down facing her. They sipped their tea in awkward silence. Kayla watched Remus, though he avoided eye contact.

"I'm so sorry for what I said at the dance." Kayla said softly. Remus put his tea down on the table beside him and sighed.

"That's alright. I probably shouldn't have been so abrupt." He said.

"No…I mean…I'm sorry for turning you down. What happened in Potions…that wasn't a prank. I didn't add the ingredient to show you that…I like you." she said. _That sounded so stupid!_ She yelled at herself. Remus finally looked Kayla in the eye.

"You what?" he asked, not sure if he had heard correctly.

"I said I like you. I didn't want to say no, I'm just so used to being on the defensive that it's become second nature." She said. Remus frowned.

"So if you've said no to everyone else, then what makes me so special?" he asked. Kayla looked at the fire, searching for the right answer.

"Because…you're different. I've never felt feelings like this so strongly for another person as I do with you and…I just…wanted you to know that." She said, looking back at him to see if she could tell what he was thinking. The sight she saw wasn't one that she had expected. He looked almost angry. She could feel the tears begin to well up in her eyes.

"Well…you sure pick an odd way of showing it." He answered. Kayla wiped away tears that threatened to fall.

"I know…I'm so sorry. After you left I realized that I was happiest when I was with you. It wasn't the first time that I had danced with someone before, but it was the first time that it had felt so right. Like we just fit. I realized that that's where I wanted to be, always. In your arms." She said softly, the tears now beginning to flow freely. She stared back at the fire. Remus' expression softened. He watched the light of the fire reflect off her skin, making her tears sparkle. There was a long moment of silence while Remus just looked at Kayla, taking in all her beauty. Kayla finally looked back at him.

"Say something." She almost begged. Remus slid over and wrapped his strong arms around her tightly, pulling her close to him. Kayla wrapped her arms around him too and began sobbing on his shoulder. He stroked her hair gently. She lifted her head and stared deep into his eyes. He stared back lovingly and gently wiped a few lingering tears from her cheek.

"I'll never let you go." He whispered to her. Then, for the second time that day, they kissed. They kissed a long, lingering kiss, only breaking away for air. They were both so happy. They held each other on the couch in silence for hours. When they decided that it was time to go back to the dorm, they reluctantly left the romantic room and headed back to the common room, hand in hand.

They entered the common room and, yet again, drew the attention of almost everyone in the room. Remus had his arm around Kayla's shoulder and was holding her close to his side. Kayla had her arm around his waist and was smiling.

"I'm really tired. I think I'm going to go to bed." Kayla whispered to Remus. He smiled down at her lovingly and led her over to the bottom of the stairs to the girls' dorms. They kissed again a couple of times before saying good night and Kayla headed off to bed. Remus turned around and, for the first time, noticed that there were other people in the room. Three of which were his best mates, who were staring at him with dropped jaws. Remus smiled to himself and sat down on the couch next to Sirius.

"How did…?" James began. Remus laughed and shrugged. They all just stared at him in utter confusion. Suddenly, Sirius' look went from confusion to accusing.

"Did you slip her the love potion?" he asked. Remus smacked Sirius.

"No. We talked. Turns out she wanted me all along." He said.

"Lucky bugger." Peter mumbled.

Kayla opened the door and closed it behind her, leaning against it. She was still smiling and didn't know if she could ever stop. Josie, Lily, and Alice were all sitting up talking when Kayla came in. They stopped to look at her, noticing her far off gaze and goofy grin.

"I guess my plan worked, then." Josie said with a grin. Kayla walked into the bathroom and poked her head back out.

"Like a charm." She said and shut the door behind her.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Wow...it's been a really long time. Sorry about that, you guys. I had a major case of writers block and didn't know what I wanted to do with the story. I think I might have a direction I want to take it now. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to let me know. I'd love to hear what my fans want to see my story do. Hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 11

Kayla awoke the next morning after the most peaceful night's sleep she had ever had. With the same goofy grin, she crawled out of bed and into the bathroom for a quick shower. She got out just as the other girls were beginning to wake up.

"Good morning!" Kayla said cheerily to them.

"Good morning…Someone's happy." Said Josie with a tired laugh. Kayla giggled.

"Overjoyed. Mind if I go down to breakfast without you? I'll meet you guys there." Kayla said, not waiting for an answer and running out the door.

"How do you think it went last night?" Lily asked Alice.

"I'd say it went pretty well." Alice said. Kayla bounced down the stairs happily. She looked around the common room to see who was there and found no one of interest. She checked the time and wondered if Remus would be down at breakfast yet. As if to answer her question, two strong arms wrapped around her waist. Kayla turned around in the person's grip and saw it was Remus. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Morning." Remus said. Kayla smiled.

"Morning." She whispered back.

"Did you tell anyone?" Remus asked. Kayla shook her head.

"Not really, but I'm sure they had no trouble guessing." She said with a laugh. "Did you?" she asked.

"Didn't have to. They were in the common room last night when you went to bed." Remus answered.

"Really? I didn't notice them." Kayla said. Remus laughed.

"Neither did I until you left." Kayla took a deep look into Remus' eyes and realized that he looked incredibly tired.

"Are you feeling alright?" She asked him with more than a little concern. Remus nodded.

"Yeah, I'm just not feeling like myself today." He answered, resting his forehead against hers. Kayla closed her eyes and they stood in silence, enjoying being in each other's arms.

"I'd say it went very well last night." Josie said from the bottom of the stairs. Kayla looked around Remus and blushed.

"What do you say we skip classes today?" Kayla suggested jokingly.

"Oh yeah, that'll be the day! Kayla Baxter? Skipping? Never!" Lily laughed. Sirius came bounding down the stairs and tackled his girlfriend.

"Morning, love. Want to explain to me what I missed yesterday?" he asked her, eyeing Remus and Kayla. Josie shook her head.

"I'll take that to the grave." She said. Sirius gave her a mock threatening look and kissed her. The next, and last, to join the group was James. He slowly descended the stairs and entered the room. He looked up and saw Sirius and Josie kissing and then looked over to Remus and Kayla who were staring deep into each other's eyes.

"STOP HAVING GIRLFRIENDS!" James shouted. The two couples and Lily looked up at him blankly. James blushed slightly and cleared his throat. He laughed nervously. "Just kidding. Anyone up for some breakfast? I'm starving!" He said, desperately trying to change the subject. Everyone shrugged and headed out of the common room together. James hung back and followed the rest of the group out. Lily noticed and let the couples get ahead of her to walk with James.

"Jealous?" she asked him. James scoffed.

"Me? Jealous? Not a chance! It's not like I can't get a girlfriend. I could have any girl I wanted, but…" James trailed off as he realized he was on the verge of embarrassing himself more.

"But…. you don't want just any girl, do you?" Lily asked softly. James looked over at her.

"Lils…" James started, but Lily cut him off.

"Look, James. I know how you might think you feel about me, but I promise you that it's not real. You want me because you can't have me. That's all it is. I'm the one girl that said no and so you see me as a challenge. If you really and truly love me the way you say you do, you're going to have to prove it. And refusing to date anyone else doesn't count. I'm not untouchable, James. You just have to know how to reach me." She said and walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, leaving James stunned behind her. Lily sat down next to Remus and Kayla.

"Are you alright?" Kayla asked, seeing the confused look on Lily's face.

"I'm not sure. Can I talk to you?" Lily asked. Kayla nodded and turned to Remus.

"I'm going to talk to Lily for a bit. See you in Binn's class?" she asked. Remus smiled and nodded, his fatigue clearly written across his face. Kayla kissed him and got up and left with Lily. "What's going on?" Kayla asked her friend.

"I think…I just told…. James that there might be a chance with me." She said slowly. Kayla stared at her friend wide-eyed and open mouthed.

"Is there?" she asked. Lily shrugged.

"I don't know…I don't think I would have said it if there was no chance, so maybe there is. I'm just really confused because, until I saw him looking at you, Remus, Sirius, and Josie like that, I didn't think there ever would be a chance." Lily said. The two girls walked into the library and grabbed a seat in the back so that the three other people in the library couldn't hear them.

"Do you like him?" Kayla asked. Lily shrugged. "Think about it, Lils. Are all his imperfections something to hate, or are they the things that you end up loving a person for?" Lily gaped at her friend.

"Love!" she asked. Kayla laughed.

"Ok, so maybe not love. But you know what I mean." Lily laughed slightly and shrugged again.

"I used to think that his imperfections were why I hated him. The arrogance and cockiness…but that's just James, you know? I can't really imagine him any other way." Lily stared at the table, but wasn't really looking at it.

"Sounds to me like you like him." Kayla suggested. Lily looked up at her with a look that Kayla couldn't tell whether it was sadness or shame.

"I think I do. What do I do if he asks me out again?" Lily asked. She was clearly starting to panic.

"Well…you say yes." Kayla said simply. Lily looked as if she were going to faint.

"I can't say yes! He'll think he's won!" Lily said.

"So make him work for it. If he wants you badly enough, he'll change. Sirius changed for Josie, and he's worse than James is." Kayla said.

Back in the Great Hall, James and Remus were talking about what Lily had said to James.

"She's telling you there's a chance?" Remus asked.

"That's what I got out of it…I think her exact words were 'I'm not untouchable, you just have to know how to reach me.' What is that supposed to mean?" James asked. Remus shrugged.

"What else did she say?" he asked.

"That my feelings for her aren't real and that I just wanted her because she was the only girl I couldn't have. That's not true at all! There are plenty of girls I couldn't have." James said. Remus rolled his eyes.

"Like who, Prongs? Name one girl that turned u down." Remus said with a laugh. James thought for a long time.

"Ok so maybe she is the only girl that turned me down, but that doesn't mean that that's why I want her. I'm in love with her, Moony. I don't know how to prove that to her. She said that refusing to date anyone else didn't count. You have to tell me what to do." James pleaded. Remus sighed.

"Find out what she wants you to do to prove it and do it. I can't think of anything else to tell you to do." Remus said tiredly.

"How do you suppose I should do that? Go up to her and ask her what it is she doesn't like about me?" James asked sarcastically. Remus shook his head.

"Ask her friends, they should know." Remus didn't say much else after that; he just took to eating his oatmeal slowly and daydreaming about Kayla.

For the rest of the day, Kayla watched Remus closely as he seemed to get progressively worse. He seemed to be having a lot of trouble focusing on his classes and Kayla even caught him sleeping a few times. She and Remus sat alone at lunch so she could talk to him.

"Are you sure you're alright?" She asked, taking his hand in hers. Remus looked into her eyes lovingly and gave her a half smile.

"I'm fine. I just didn't get much sleep last night because I was thinking about you all night long." He said, kissing her forehead. Kayla smiled.

"I don't believe you, but that was cute, so I'll except it as a valid excuse." She said with a laugh. Remus gave her a small smile and kissed her forehead. Kayla took his hand in hers and rested her head on his shoulder. After a long moment of silence, Kayla chuckled.

"If only my parents could see me now. They'd probably throw me a party." Remus laughed slightly.

"What is it with them and you having a boyfriend? You can date whenever you want to." Kayla shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess they figured they never had to worry about my behavior or my grades or anything really. Maybe they just wanted something to worry about." Kayla offered.

"Oh yes. That must be it." Remus said sleepily. He had rested his head on hers and was beginning to drift off, completely relaxed by the sound of Kayla's voice.

"Well, I hate to burst their bubble, but they still don't have anything to worry about. You would never do anything to hurt me, would you?" Kayla asked. She already knew the answer; she just wanted him to say it. Remus shook his head slowly and tightened his grip on her hand.

"Remus…Can I ask you something?" she asked. Remus sighed.

"I guess so." He said. All he wanted to do was listen to her talk. Answering things was too much of a burden today.

"Where do you go every month? It seems like you disappear for a couple of days every month." Kayla asked. Remus's stomach jumped up into his throat. He no longer felt like sleeping.

"I…I do?" he asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Yeah. First it was a Pixie disease. Then it was one of James's experimental potions gone bad. And then you had detention for three days in a row." Remus shrugged.

"I guess I'm just accident prone. We better get to class, we're going to be late." Remus suggested, desperately trying to change the subject. Kayla nodded.

"We don't have classes together the rest of the day. Want to meet me in the Room of Requirements after dinner?" Kayla asked with a smile and a wink. Remus laughed.

"I wish I could, but I've been planning to do something with James and Sirius tonight. We've been planning for a couple of weeks. Rain check, though." He said, pulling her into a kiss. Kayla smiled.

"Alright. I'll see you at dinner, then." She said and with one final kiss they went their separate ways to class.

Later that night, after dinner, James, Sirius, and Peter all headed up to the common room. Remus hadn't shown up for dinner, which worried Kayla. She had no idea where he could be. When she noticed that the three Marauders had left, she chased after them.

"Hey! Wait!" she panted up the stairs that she had taken at a run the whole way from the Great Hall. The three stopped and turned around. Kayla caught up to them and took a moment to catch her breath before asking

"Where's Remus?" James shrugged. Peter continued to give her the same creepy stare that she had gotten used to.

"How are we supposed to know?" Sirius asked. Kayla rolled her eyes.

"You lot are his best friends, how would you not know? Please tell me where he is, he's been all out of sorts today and I'm really worried." James laughed.

"Aww! Ickle Baxter is worried about her boyfriend." He teased.

"Yes I am. Where is he?" Kayla asked firmly, now starting to get annoyed that all they wanted to do was joke.

"He's in Professor Dumbledore's office." Peter piped up. James and Sirius both gave him threatening looks.

"He is?" Peter nodded; wincing at the painful looks the other two were giving him. "Oh. Well if he's with Professor Dumbledore, then there can't be anything wrong with him. Unless he's in trouble…is he in trouble?" Kayla asked, her short-lived calm giving way to panic again.

"No he's not in trouble. He just has a few things to work out with him, that's all." James explained. Kayla nodded.

"Alright, then. I'll see you guys in the morning I guess." Kayla said, she turned around to go back to the Great Hall to meet Josie and Lily. When James and Sirius were sure that Kayla was out of earshot, they rounded on Peter.

"You are _never_ to answer questions again!" James yelled at Peter, who shrunk against he railing under the glares of two of his only three friends.

_Something doesn't feel right. Remus never mentioned any problems to me before. I don't like this at all._ Kayla thought to herself as she sat down next to Lily.

"Jos, are you and Sirius doing anything together tonight?" Kayla asked. Josie shook her head.

"Nah, tonight's boys night. Why?" she asked, seeing the concerned look on Kayla's face.

"I think something's up. Remus said he'd meet me at dinner, and he didn't and when I asked James and Sirius they weren't going to tell me. They seem to do this every month and Peter is always the one to let slip where Remus is. The other two are never happy about it."

"What do you think we should do? Follow them?" Josie asked sarcastically. Kayla nodded. "What? You can't be serious!" she exclaimed.

"I want to know what they are hiding from us. Will one of you do this with me?" Kayla asked, almost begged. Josie sighed.

"Well, it was my idea, I guess, so I suppose I should go with you." Josie agreed. Lily looked as if she were desperately trying to decide something.

"If you two are going, then I'm going. There's no way I'm getting left out of this one." She said, finally deciding it was going to be fun.

The girls waited in the common room to see when the guys were going to leave, if they were going to leave. About half an hour went by before Sirius, James, and Peter walked down from the common room, Sirius stopping to give Josie a peck, and then left through the portrait hole. The girls gave them a few minutes before they quickly and quietly left to follow them. They followed the boys until they reached the front doors. They then watched in amazement as James pulled a large cloak out and draped it over all three of them, causing them to disappear from view completely.

"An invisibility cloak!" Lily whispered to herself.

"How are we going to follow them now?" Josie asked, ready to give up.

"Follow the footsteps in the grass! Look." Kayla pointed. They could plainly see the footprints being made in the grass outside the castle. The girls followed as silently as they could. They finally reached a giant willow that they all knew as the Whomping Willow. The girls suddenly realized that the cloak was the smallest of the boys' secrets. Each of them stared on in absolute shock as they saw the cloak sink to the ground, revealing three animals. A dog, a stag, and a rat. The rat quickly scurried up to the tree, which was thrashing around wildly. It jumped up on a knot and the tree froze in mid-swing. A trap door suddenly swung open and the three animals hurried inside. The girls followed just as the tree was beginning to regain mobility. It took a violent swing at the ground just as Josie jumped in through the trap door. Kayla looked around at the long, narrow, dank passage way and could see the three animals a few feet ahead. Lily clutched Josie's arm as the two followed Kayla down the passage.

At the end of the passage was another trap door, which the stag pushed open with its antlers and walked through, followed by the other two. The girls followed through and into a very old, beat up house. There were cobwebs all over and the floor was rotted through in places. Kayla looked around and spotted a long crooked staircase. There was old furniture throughout the room that were covered with dust and cobwebs. A look of realization spread across the girls' faces.

"Merlin's beard…" Josie breathed.

"We're in…" Lily trailed off.

"The Shrieking Shack!" Kayla finished. There was a loud thud coming from upstairs and the girls slowly climbed to the noise.

"Quick! Shut the door!" They heard a voice shout. There were then the sounds of clamoring and then the sounds of a door shutting. The girls reached the floor and the hall in which the noises were coming from. They took a quick look around and saw giant claw marks covering the walls. Just then a door beside them flung open revealing something they had never seen before. It looked like a wolf, but stood on two legs and had the face of a human. A very familiar human.

"Oh my God!" Kayla breathed.

"Get out!" yelled the beast. The girls were glued to the spot out of fear. Suddenly, they were each grabbed by unseen hands and dragged from the door. Kayla took a look back as they were running and saw the same dog slam the door shut on the beast. She took a look back at who was leading them off the floor. It was James. Lily seemed to have fainted, and James was carrying her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He had Kayla and Josie by the hand and was running almost too fast for the girls to keep up. Just then there was a crash and a loud yelp. James took one quick pause to look behind him.

Later on in life the group would sit around and wonder if what had happened next could have been prevented had James not paused. Before they even knew what had happened, the giant beast was bounding after them, now looking like a giant wolf, and leapt at the group. James leapt in front of the girls, having placed Lily on the ground and took the full blow of the beast. The force knocked them backwards. James reached out for the first thing he could find and broke off a stick from the railing beside him. James blocked the wolf's bite by shoving the stick in its mouth long ways.

"RUN!" he shouted back at Josie and Kayla. Josie and Kayla picked Lily up, draping an arm over each of their shoulders and made a run for the door. Lily suddenly came to and looked back at the fight between James and the wolf just as the big black dog leapt onto the back of the beast and bit hard on its neck.

"JAMES!" Lily shouted just as they exited the house. When they were out on the lawn of the Shrieking Shack, the three girls sat on the ground. Josie was comforting a sobbing Lily. Kayla stared back at the house. She couldn't get the familiar human face out of her mind. Was it really who she thought it was? No more than ten minutes later, both James and Sirius came running out of the house to meet the girls.

"James!" Lily exclaimed. She jumped up and nearly knocked James to the ground, embracing him in a tight hug and sobbing on his shoulder. Josie was being held and rocked by Sirius, she was sobbing as well. Kayla found it impossible to muster the tears until she noticed both James and Sirius watching her. She could tell by the look on their faces that what she had feared the most was true. She shook her head slowly as silent tears began gushing down her cheeks.

"No…" she whimpered. Her knees buckled and gave way. Sirius jumped up just in time to catch her and gently lower her to the ground.

"I'm so sorry." Sirius said. He couldn't think of anything else to say. He gave her a tight, comforting hug as silent tears continued to run down Kayla's shocked face.

"R-Remus…" she sobbed. Josie covered her mouth and shook her head.

"He's not…?" she asked. Lily continued to sob on James' shoulder, apparently too shaken to think or speak. Sirius didn't answer Josie's unfinished question.

"We need to get them back to the castle." James said.

"C'mon, Kayla. You have to walk back to the castle. You'll be safe there." The two boys draped the girls in the invisibility cloak and told them to go back to the castle, but leave the cloak at the end of the passage. The girls, too shaken and shocked to argue or question, followed their orders and went back to the common room.

When they arrived, everyone had already gone to bed. Lily and Josie went up to the dorm. Kayla decided to stay in the common room, hoping to catch James and Sirius when they came back. Before she knew it, however, she was fast asleep on the couch.

The next morning, Kayla awoke to find that she had been given a blanket and a pillow. She sat up and stretched and yawned. Suddenly, the memory of the previous night flooded her mind and she spun around to take a look at the room. Sitting at a table in the far corner of the room was Remus. He looked half dead. Kayla jumped up from the couch and took a few steps back.

"Kayla…" Remus said, getting up from the table. He took a few steps toward her, but Kayla run up the stairs and slammed the door behind her. She slid down the door and began sobbing again. James and Sirius walked down the stairs to find a very distraught Remus sitting in a chair. Just as James and Sirius had recognized the look of love on Remus' face, they recognized the look of heartbreak.

"Remus-" James started, but Remus cut him off. He had a very distant look in his eyes.

"She hates me. I should have known that I couldn't ever be happy with her. She was going to find out eventually. This damn disease has ruined any chance at the best relationship of my life and possibly ruined yours as well. Why didn't the damn wolf just kill me?" Remus asked no one in particular. He got up and walked up to their dorm and slammed the door. Josie and Lily descended the stairs. Lily, upon seeing James, ran to him with just as much force as she had the previous night.

"James! I was so worried when Kayla said she never saw you come back last night. What happened?" she asked, near tears. James recognized her need for comforting but couldn't help but smile on the inside and jump for joy in his mind at being held by Lily.

"We had to calm Remus. He gets over excited at the sight and smell of humans." Lily looked at James, confusion written across her face.

"Remus?" she asked. James and Sirius looked at each other, and Sirius at Josie. "Remus is a wer-" Lily started to almost scream, but James covered her mouth quickly before she could reveal anything.

"Yes, but you can't tell anyone. No one is supposed to know, not even us. If word gets out, he's gone. They'll make him leave Hogwarts. You can't tell anyone. Not Maggie, not Alice, no one. Understand?" James asked calmly yet firmly. Lily and Josie both nodded. Lily wrapped her arms back around James. She had to admit to herself, she liked the feeling.

"Where is he?" Josie asked.

"He and Kayla met this morning and something happened. Remus was really upset by the whole thing and disappeared upstairs just before you two came down." Sirius answered.

"That's so weird. I didn't think she would be like that." Josie said.

"You mean normal?" asked a voice from the bottom of the boys' staircase. Everyone looked over to see Remus standing against the wall. His eyes were dull and distant and his skin looked pale. Nobody could tell if it was from the full moon or from Kayla.

"She was just really shaken up, Remus. I'm sure she'll come around." Lily said, letting go of James (to his great dismay). Remus shook his head.

"No. It'll be no different than any other time. None of you saw the look on her face last night when she realized it was my face in the wolf's body. None of you saw the look on her face this morning when I stepped closer to her. There was nothing but fear. Not the faintest glimmer of what she used to feel for me." Remus said as he sunk down onto one of the steps and buried his face in his hands. No one knew whether to try and comfort Remus or agree with him. Deep down, they all knew he was probably right. They didn't know Kayla well enough to know how she'd react to something like this.

Kayla lay on her bed with the curtains drawn and her covers pulled over her head. She couldn't figure out how to get the tears to stop flowing. **_What are you crying for?_** The same voice that had tried to convince her to date Remus asked._ **He hasn't left you, hasn't broken your heart in any way.** I know that._ Kayla argued back. **_Then why are you crying?_** The voice still sounded like her mother. _Because I've broken his. I don't know what to do anymore. He's a werewolf. How can I date that?_ Kayla thought that thought and immediately wanted smack herself. **_That! He's a that now! One thing that he had no control over all of a sudden makes him a that? I want you to listen and I want you to listen very closely. Remus is still Remus. You managed a very close friendship with him for months before you found out. What makes knowing any different? You know he would never put in harms way. You know that if you ended up there, he would do everything in his power to get you out. Remus hasn't changed, he is still the same person you fell in love with._** The voice lectured. _Fell in love? I'm not in love._ Kayla thought, shocked that that had come from her mind. **_Then why are you so bent out of shape about this?_**

Back in the common room, there was still silence between the five. Lily finally couldn't take the silence anymore and tried to speak to Remus.

"Remus I know-" Lily started.

"You know?" Remus asked coldly, staring daggers at the floor. "You think you know what it's like? You couldn't possibly know."

"Remus, I'm muggle born. I get just as much grief about that as you do about being what you are." Lily said calmly. Remus shook his head.

"Being muggle born doesn't make you a vicious beast, does it?" Remus asked. "Being muggle born doesn't stop someone from wanting to be with you. You are still you at the end of the day, you never change." Remus said.

"You don't change either. Underneath the beast's exterior beats the heart of a true gentleman. Your heart." Lily continued. Remus continued to stare at the floor for a few moments before deciding that he had had enough and got up and left. Moments later, there was a frantic slamming of footsteps coming down the girls' staircase. Kayla's tear stained cheeks and bloodshot eyes rounded the corner and took a quick look around the common room.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"He just left." Sirius answered.

"Do you know where he went?" She asked. James shook his head.

"He just left." He answered. Kayla hurried down the rest of the stairs and out of the common room. She looked up and down the corridor and over the railing but couldn't see him anywhere. She thought of all the possible places he could be and began running around the castle in search of him.

Remus sat in the library at a table in the very back corner. He stared off into space, trying to decide what to do next. **_Can you blame her for being scared? I'm a bloody werewolf. Who can handle that? I can barely handle it and I'vebeen this since I was a bloody child. I wonder if she'll ever speak to me again. _**Just as Remus was finishing this thought, someone pulled a chair out from his table and sat down across from him.

"I've been looking for you." she said.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Remus cocked an eyebrow, unsure why this person was interested in finding him.

"You? Were looking for me?" he asked. The girl smiled and nodded.

"I heard you had a rough night last night. Lady troubles?" The girl asked. Remus sighed and sat back in his chair.

"I guess you could say that. Narcissa, shouldn't you be with Lucius? Aren't you two dating or something?" Remus asked with a little more attitude than he had intended. The girl took no notice of the tone of the question and slid her chair around the table so she was sitting next to him.

"Oh. Lucius and I broke up last week. He was too much of a bad boy for me. That's why I thought I'd come look for you. It helps to talk out your problems with someone who knows what you're going through." There was something about Narcissa's tone that Remus wasn't sure of. He looked into her icy blue eyes that were sparkling with the light flowing in from the windows. He had to admit that she was very beautiful. Long blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and flawless complexion. All of a sudden, every feeling of doubt or discomfort left him and he felt the urge to pour his heart out to her.

"Alright. My girlfriend can't accept me for who I am. It's strange, we've only been going out for a couple of days, but I'm sure that I was falling in love with her." He said.

"And now?" Narcissa asked sweetly.

"Now…I don't know. I guess if she can't accept me for who I am, she's not worth my time, right?" That sentence was the most difficult sentence he had ever had to say. He looked back into Narcissa's eyes and something flared up inside him and for a moment, he forgot all about Kayla.

"You poor thing." Narcissa said, placing a hand on Remus' knee. "She was wrong in thinking that she could change you. You are who you are. I'd never try and change you." She said with a smirk. Remus couldn't explain it. He was sitting with one of his least favorite people in the world, her hand on his knee, talking about his feelings. Maybe he had been wrong about Narcissa. Maybe she wasn't as bad as everyone made her out to be.

"You want to go talk about this over breakfast?" he asked. Narcissa smiled and nodded. Only minutes after Remus and Narcissa had left the library, Kayla ran in. She looked around and couldn't find anyone anywhere. She looked up and down every aisle, she even checked the restricted section, but Remus wasn't there. She didn't let the twinge of discouragement deter her and ran out of the library.

Remus and Narcissa sat in the Great Hall, neither eating, just talking. Narcissa was going on about her break up with Lucius, but Remus was only half paying attention. He stared into Narcissa's eyes as she spoke and once again forgot all of his troubles. He hadn't thought of Kayla since they left the library and he was left with the strangest feeling of bliss he could imagine.

"Lucius and I haven't spoken since the break up. I realized that I wanted a kind caring man, not a powerful one…Are you alright?" Narcissa asked, finally noticing the expression on Remus' face. Before he could even stop to think about what he was doing, he leaned forward and took Narcissa's lips in his and kissed her. He still didn't understand. He was kissing someone he had hated for so long. He decided that he no longer wanted an explanation and just lost himself in the kiss.

Kayla stood in the open door way of the Great Hall, watching the two with a blank expression. She finally grew enough control over her body to turn and allow her feet to carry her back to the common room. She walked into the common room, where Lily, James, Sirius, and Josie were still talking. Josie noticed Kayla's lost expression.

"Kayla?" she asked sweetly. Kayla looked up, but Josie couldn't be sure if Kayla actually saw them all sitting there, her expression was so distant.

"Congratulations." Kayla said to James and Sirius. They looked at each other and back at Kayla, confused.

"For what?" Sirius asked.

"You've created the perfect deception. You've created a man that, at first glance, is the sweetest, kindest, most loyal person on the planet. But if you look closer…you realize that he's a bigger player than you two could ever come close to being. I just thought I'd congratulate you on that." Kayla said and without another word she climbed the stairs to her dorm and crawled back into bed, and there she remained for the rest of the day. She had no tears left to cry, she just lay there, thinking, hurting. Sirius and James took a moment to register what Kayla had said. Once the initial shock had passed, the two jumped up and headed for the portrait hole as if an unspoken decision had passed between them.

"Where are you two going?" Lily asked.

"To find Remus. Kayla wouldn't have said that for nothing." Sirius said, slipping through the portrait hole. James followed behind him without a word, confusion set across his face. The portrait hole closed behind them, leaving the two girls alone in the common room.

"You go and search the library, I'll go and look in the Great Hall." Sirius instructed James, who nodded, confusion and determination written on his face. Sirius hurried to the Great Hall and threw the doors open. He took a quick glance up and down the Gryffindor table in search of his friend. And then he spotted them, still kissing at the far end of the table. Sirius' stomach gave a great lurch as he realized who Remus was kissing. He quickly walked up behind his best friend and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Hey, Moony, how bout a word?" he said firmly. Remus didn't want to talk to his friend, but there was something in Sirius' voice that clearly stated that he had no choice in the matter. Remus gave Narcissa one last kiss and a promise to hurry back and got up to follow his friend out of the Great Hall. Sirius glared over his shoulder at the girl who had slithered her way into Remus' heart. When the two men were out of earshot of any other student, Sirius gave Remus a quick and hard punch across the cheek. Remus' head whipped to the side and came back to stare Sirius in the eye. "What the bloody hell were you thinking!" Sirius exclaimed. Remus said nothing. "Do you even realize who you were sucking face with? Narcissa! My vile cousin! Lucius' girlfriend! What the bloody hell is wrong with you?" Sirius tried with all his might not to shout, but found it impossible and with every word his voice raised to shouting point. Remus continued to stare his friend in the eye and said nothing. The truth was, Sirius' punch had knocked enough sense into Remus for him to realize what he had done. But the commanding tone and the fierce look in Padfoot's eyes, combined with the jumble of confused emotions Remus was feeling, rolled into one big ball of anger and refused to admit defeat. "Kayla saw you two, you know." Sirius continued. For a brief moment, Sirius saw the fleeting glimpse of something he could have sworn was shame, but it disappeared before he could be sure. "She saw you kissing that – that _thing_." Sirius said, his anger, too, rising to boiling point.

"So what! She broke my heart, now she knows how it feels." Remus said with such calm and such little emotion that it made Sirius sick to his stomach to hear. This friend had always been the reasonable one; he had the most control over his emotions out of all four of the Marauders. It pained Sirius to see Remus lose control like this.

"So that's what this is all about? Spite? This is low, Remus. She was frightened, how can you blame her for that? And instead of waiting until she came to grips with reality, you went and found the first slag you could!"

"She's not a slag!" Remus found himself defending Narcissa almost without thinking. How dare Sirius talk to him that way? Who did he think he was?

"Bloody hell, mate! Are you hearing yourself? You can't hide that you have feelings for Kayla. Everyone can see it. What I can't see is why you're doing this to her." Sirius placed a hand on his friend's arm. Remus shrugged it off and headed back for the Great Hall.

"I don't have to take this. I have better things to do than listen to you." With that, he opened the door and disappeared. Sirius punched the wall in rage and stormed back up to the common room. When he trudged in, he drew the attention of everyone in the room. There were now small groups of younger students scattered throughout the room, but Josie and Lily still sat on the couch, but were now joined by Alice. She had gone into their room and found the nearly catatonic Kayla.

"Did you find him?" Lily asked. Sirius nodded, sitting down beside Josie and wrapping a firm arm around her. Being in his arms gave Josie a feeling of ease, however small, and produced a slight smile to her lips.

"Yeah, I found him alright. In the Great Hall. Sucking the face off an asp." Sirius said with an edge to his voice that wiped every shred of content from Josie's face.

"What?" Alice asked in disbelief.

"Who was he with?" Lily asked.

"Narcissa." Sirius said. All three girls gasped.

"Narcissa!" Josie asked in disbelief. "But how?"

"He won't admit it, but it's spite. Kayla must have found them. I told him she had seen. I don't know if it had any affect on him at all. I can't believe he's doing this." He said, more to himself than to any of the girls. The five sat in silence for a few moments before James came into the common room.

"I couldn't find him in the library. Did you see him?" he asked. Sirius nodded, but wasn't up to telling the story once more. It had left a fowl taste in his mouth. "Well?" James pushed on. Lily got up from the couch and walked over to James. She leaned in and whispered what Sirius had told them into his ear. James' jaw dropped. "You're bloody joking!" He exclaimed. Lily shook her head. James opened his mouth, but shut it immediately when all heads turned toward the stairs. Kayla stumbled down the stairs, bleary eyed with tear stained cheeks. Josie immediately jumped to her friend's side to offer aid.

"I'm alright, really." Kayla tried to convince everyone. Her shaky voice told them otherwise. She slowly made her way to the couch and sat down between Sirius and Josie.

"Kayla, why don't you go back upstairs and get some sleep. You've had a rough couple of days." Lily suggested. Kayla shook her head.

"No. I can't dwell on what's happened. I have to live my life like nothing's happened."

She sounded as if she were trying to convince herself of that fact as well.

"Bloody hell, Baxter!" Sirius exclaimed. "You're unbelievable! I suppose you're going to burry yourself in your books again. Study and never see the light of day!" He continued. Kayla nodded.

"I don't know what else to do. Studying kept me content without a boyfriend before, why should it be any different now?" Lily shook her head at Kayla's words.

"If it makes you happy, Kayla." Lily said. Kayla half smiled at her.

Remus sat down at the table next to Narcissa. He folded his arms on the table and rested his chin on them. Narcissa slid over and began rubbing his back.

"Don't worry, love. You don't need them. Ditch them, make new friends. I know some people that would love to have someone like you as a friend." Remus looked up at Narcissa and smiled.

"I knew you'd be able to make me feel better." He leaned in and kissed her.

"Come on. Let's go introduce you to some of those people I was talking about." Narcissa took Remus by the arm out of the Great Hall.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Remus Lupin." Narcissa introduced him to a room full of people in the Slytherin common room. Remus looked around uncomfortably.

"I shouldn't be in here. Slytherins and Gryffindors don't mix well." He said as he began to notice more and more dirty looks.

"Oh don't be silly, Remus. They just need time to get used to you. I mean, if we can get along as well as we do, there's no reason why it shouldn't be like that with all Slytherins." Remus took a deep breath and sighed.

"Narcissa! What the bloody hell were you thinking bringing a Gryffindor in here?" A rather large, pointy nosed Slytherin asked.

"I brought him here to be enlightened. He's looking for new friends." Narcissa said.

"New friends, eh? What happened to your old ones? Did my brother become too much of a pussy for you?" Remus looked over, recognizing the icy tone of none other than Regulas Black, the 3rd year Slytherin brother of Sirius'.

"As a matter of fact…" Remus thought about what he was going to say. Did he really want to find new friends? Could he really be friends with all these Slytherins? He thought about everything Sirius had said to him in the hall outside of the Great Hall and grew angrier and more spiteful towards him. He took a deep sigh and answered, "As a matter of fact…yes. Too much of a goody-goody for me, all of them. Decided I needed a change of scenery." Remus finished, he was sure this was what he wanted, but the thought of turning against Black and all his friends still left a twinge of pain in his stomach. Regulas laughed and clapped Remus on the back.

"I always knew you were the more sensible of the bunch! Welcome to the Slytherin house!" he said. Suddenly, as if what Regulas had said struck the hearts of every Slytherin in the room, they all began to shake his hand, and clap him on the back. Girls hugged him, boys congratulated him. All but one, that is.

"You! You come into my house! You insult me by having your arm around my girl! Do you think that the word of one measly little 3rd year is going to change the feelings of an entire house? Our houses have been rivals since Salazar Slytherin broke away from the rest! What makes you think you're any different from the rest?" It was the cold drawl of none other than Lucius Malfoy.

"Your girl, am I?" Narcissa spoke up. "We're over, Lucius. Move on!" she barked. Remus silenced her and spoke up.

"Lucius, I meant no harm by coming in here. I propose a truce." He said, extending his hand to Lucius.

"Your relationship with that sorry excuse for a pure blood was short lived. I suppose if you could recognize her for the scum she truly was, you can't be all that bad." Lucius said, taking Remus hand. Something in what he said didn't sit well with Remus, however, and he jerked his hand away.

"SHE ISN'T SCUM!" he yelled. He looked around as the icy glares that had disappeared reappeared on the Slytherins' faces. Remus laughed uncomfortably. "What I meant was…Scum is too good a word for her. She's far worse than that." And took Lucius' hand again. Lucius laughed and shook his hand.

"Oh yes, you do belong here!" And with that, Remus became the adopted son of the Slytherins.

Kayla awoke the next day with a throbbing headache and a pit in her stomach. Nothing sounded better to her than sleeping forever, never to have to wake and face the pain again. She sat up in bed, determined to go through her day as if nothing was wrong, and went into the bathroom to change and get ready for breakfast. She entered the Great Hall to hear a roar of laughter from the Slytherin table. There he was, sitting amongst the many green clad students. Narcissa had his arm around him and was whispering something in his ear. Some of the Slytherins were still laughing, as was Remus. Kayla took a deep breath and went to sit down next to James. He and Sirius had been watching the Slytherins and Remus very closely.

"This is low. It's not like him." James said.

"Let him do what he wants. He's free to do as he pleases." Kayla said, pulling a bowl of porridge towards her.

"You can't be ok with this!" Sirius said.

"Of course I'm not! But what can I do? Any suggestions?" Kayla asked, a bit more bitterly than she had intended. Josie placed a hand on top of hers.

"It's ok, Kayla. No one said you had to do anything. Sirius is just surprised that you aren't as appalled by this as they are." Kayla shrugged and began to slowly eat her porridge, not at all wanting food. Once she had had her fill of eating porridge that she was sure was made of ash, she stood up from the table, gathered her books, and headed for her first class.

Weeks went by and no one had heard a word from Remus, besides the occasional joke they heard him tell to his group from the Slytherin house. Everyone assumed that he and Narcissa were still dating because news spreads like wild fire in Hogwarts and no one had mentioned it yet. Kayla got used to the stares she got when she entered a room from people who had heard about their harsh break up after only a couple of days. The pain was still there, but just as she had learned to ignore the stares and whispers, she grew numb to the pain as well. Lily and Josie learned not to mention Remus to her. Sirius and James grew more and more bitter by the day. The girls were sure they had overheard them planning a horrible prank to pull against him one night, but the boys swore it was nothing.

"Tonight's a full moon." Sirius said to James one morning over breakfast.

"I know." James said, shoving a sausage link in his mouth.

"What do you think he's going to do?" Sirius asked.

"He may be a wanker, but he's not stupid. He'll go to the Shrieking Shack like he has every full moon since he started at Hogwarts."

"Are you going to go out there?" Lily asked. James shook his head.

"He doesn't want our friendship and company, so he wont get it." Kayla sat silently listening to their conversation, staring at her plate full of food, suddenly not interested in eating.

The day went by as normally as they had been for the past few weeks. They didn't bring Remus up again until sunset when Sirius and James began pacing the common room. It was midnight, so the room was empty except for the two of them, Kayla, Josie, Lily, and Peter.

"Maybe we should go out there. He won't remember in the morning." James suggested. Sirius shook his head.

"No. It'll serve him right if he wants us there and we're not. It's his own fault." Sirius said, slamming his fist into his hand.

"It's my fault. My reaction to all this is what brought all this on. I'm so sorry, everyone." Kayla apologized. Josie hugged her.

"It's not your fault, sweetie! Remus can just be a little hot headed at times. Hopefully this will all blow over in a couple of months." Kayla knew Josie was just trying to help, but her words made no difference. She still felt as if she were at fault. Soon, everyone calmed down and went to bed. It was a restless night for Kayla, she tossed and turned, having nightmare after nightmare of the fateful night that brought everything to where they were today. Beasts with human faces, screaming, fear, broken furniture, even the dead bodies of her closest friends. Several times she awoke in cold sweats, wanting nothing more than the comforting embrace of the one man she loved.

After getting only three full hours of sleep in the whole night, Kayla awoke and started her day as usual. Nothing was different that day. Nothing until around second period, when rumors began to spread that a boy had been taken to the hospital wing first thing that morning. Some said they saw him, bleeding everywhere. Others said that he had died. So many different versions of the story were going around the school, but the six friends knew whom it all lead back to. James and Sirius both decided they weren't going to go visit him in the hospital wing. Josie and Lily decided they wouldn't either. Kayla, however, hovered around the hospital wing until she had seen the last of the Slytherins go in and leave.

Quietly she crept in to the end of the wing where she could see one body laying, all wrapped up in white cloth. She stepped up to the side of the bed and saw that only his eyes, nose, and mouth were unwrapped; his eyes were shut, however. Kayla pulled up a chair and sat down, silent tears running down her face. Remus must have felt her presence in the room, for only moments after she sat down, he rolled over and opened his eyes.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" He was weak, Kayla could tell by the sound of his voice that just speaking that one sentence took most of his strength.

"I just came to see if you were ok." Kayla whispered, not wanting him to hear her voice cracking from the tears.

"Well, I'm fine. Now you better leave before I attack." That statement sent Kayla over the edge and she began to sob openly.

"Remus, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry that what I did hurt you so much. I was scared, I had never come so close to death before that night." Kayla whimpered.

"Oh you poor thing! Was one night too much for Ms. Kayla Baxter to handle? I've dealt with this my whole life, Kayla! How do you think I feel? What do you think it does to me when I realize that it doesn't matter how much I love a person that they could never love me back because of what I am?"

"You loved me?" Kayla asked.

"Yeah, I loved you. The beast loved you! Hard to believe that a cold blooded killer like me could ever have feelings, isn't it?" his tone was ice cold, she could tell what spending weeks with the Slytherins had done to him.

"I loved you too, Remus. I still would if you would forgive me. Come back to us, Remus. Give me one more chance, I promise I will never hurt you like that again!" Remus made a noise as if it were supposed to be a laugh.

"Come back? Why should I? I'm doing quite well where I am. I've moved on. I think you should do the same thing." Kayla couldn't take his tone any longer. It hurt her to hear him talking like that. It was the same tone Lucius Malfoy used with her on the platform. It was a tone that had lost all warmth and compassion. All it held now was bitterness and hatred.

"I better be getting back to the others. I just wanted to see if you were alright." Kayla stood up, before she left, however, she leaned down and kissed him ever so gently on the lips. For just a moment she swore that she saw his cold exterior melt away, she swore she saw the old Remus, even if for just a moment.

"Don't ever do that again. You better go." He said coldly. Kayla began to cry again and left the hospital wing.

"That ruddy git!" Sirius yelled after Kayla had told them what had happened. "I swear the moment he gets out of that hospital wing I am going to give him such a beating that he'll end up right back in that sick bed!" Lily and Josie sat with their arms around Kayla, who hadn't stopped crying since she left the hospital wing. James and Sirius were livid.

Several days after the full moon, Remus was finally released from the hospital wing with nothing but a sling holding up one arm and new scars. James and Sirius heard that he was out of the wing and devised a plan for a surprise attack on him outside of the potions classroom that afternoon.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The thought of Kayla's visit to the hospital wing hadn't left her mind for one second. It was with her when she went to bed, dreamed, and when she awoke the next morning. It would come as no surprise that as she walked toward her potions lesson, the shouts and chanting never pierced her ears. It was only when she was one corridor away that the clatter struck her. Snapping out of her deep and taunting thoughts, she raced around the last corner to the almost deserted hallway just outside of the potions room. The sight that met her both astounded and sickened her.

_"Slick, slimy serpent!_

_ Mascot to the scum!_

_Pets, turn on your master,_

_Especially since he's not one!"_

There, curled up on the floor in fetal position, was Remus. Ropes, the ends of which became hissing, biting snakeheads, bound his hands and feet. Circling around his writhing, jerking body were snakes, biting him wherever they could find bear skin.

_"Slick, slimy serpent!_

_ Mascot to the scum!_

_Pets, turn on your master,_

_Especially since he's not one!"_

Sirius and James circled Remus as vultures would a dead deer. Their wands pointed at the snakes, the incantation spitting out more serpents with each reciting. Remus jerked and cried out in pain as the fangs of the ophidians sank into his skin. Shocked at this use of torture by her friends, Kayla threw down her books and snatched the wand from Sirius's hand.

"Stop it, Sirius! You're hurting him! James, stop!" Kayla pleaded.

"We were just having a bit of fun." Sirius said, pocketing his wand, causing half of the snakes to disappear.

"Yeah. We just thought we'd let our old friend Moony know exactly what we think of him." James added, pocketing his own wand, the last of the snakes disappearing.

"Bloody gits!" Remus shouted from the floor. "Some friends you lot turned out to be!" Kayla turned and knelt beside Remus, examining the bite marks while untying the headless ropes.

"There is an ointment to cure injuries cause by incantations. I think Professor McDung has some locked up in his office." Kayla pulled out her wand and pointed it at the lock. _"Alohamora"_ she whispered and entered the room. Moments later she emerged holding a small flask of a thick white ointment.

"Yeah right! Do you really think I'm going to sit here and let you touch me?" Remus scoffed.

"Yes, I do. Unless you would like to pay Madame Pomfrey another visit." Kayla said, yet again kneeling beside Remus.

"Like hell I would!" Remus retorted.

"Then let me heal you. It will only take a second and it wont hurt a bit." Remus sighed and rested back on his elbows, allowing Kayla to work her magic on him.

One by one students began to arrive. Sirius and James ushered them into the classroom, assuring them that there was nothing to see. When Lily and Josie arrived, the hallway was filled with echoing squeals of glee as they laid eyes on Kayla hovering over Remus.

"Oh, sod off, you twats! I'm only humoring her so she feels like she has some sort of purpose."

"So you do care!" cooed Lily, wrapping an arm around James.

"I bloody well do not."

"Remus, you haven't taken your eyes off of me for more than two seconds since I returned with the potion. Why don't you admit that you still love me and come back to us?" Kayla asked.

"I will not come back to this sorry lot!" he said, jumping to his feet. As if his shouts had called him to her, Narcissa glided around the corner, casting the Gryffindors icy stares.

"What's all this, love?" she asked, taking Remus in her arms.

"Nothing, just a bit of unpleasant chat, that's all." As the grotesque couple left the group, Kayla rounded on Sirius and James.

"Are you mad? We're trying to win him back, not give him more reason to hate us!" The two laughed.

"Right, Kayla. You heard him yourself. He doesn't _want_ to come back to us. Face it, there's no hope." Sirius said.

"Maybe so, but he never said he didn't love me. I think there might still be a chance just as long as you two don't screw things up!" As the group entered the classroom, Kayla explained to Josie and Lily what they had missed.

* * *

A/N: Long time no read, huh? Sorry it's taken me so long...I had writers block and then i forgot that I was even writing a story (blush) neways...I realize this is a really short chapter, but don't worry. I've got ideas that are up and coming so hopefully I'll get them in writing soon. Send me a review and let me know what you think! One thing I do want to know...do you think the prank was uncharacteristic of James and Sirius? I'm not sure if I made them seem too cruel, but then they were never the kindest people to Severus in their school days so maybe it's not...I don't know...let me know what you think 


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: OMG!! I haven't written in two years! That's crazy! To be honest, I completely forgot about this story. I just remebered it and began rereading it and was suddenly filled with the desire to write! It's the first story I've written in ages, so I hope it's not too rusty. Let me know what you think, the more reviews, the more likely I am to continue. Although, my chapters might continue to be few and far between as I'm about to return to school and may not have all the time to continue to write. I promise to attempt, though. Anyways, let me know what you think!

* * *

The next day came and Kayla hadn't spoken to James or Sirius since the scene outside the potions class. As she was walking down the hall to breakfast, she past what seemed to be a deserted hall. Just as she passed, however, she began to hear voices.

"This is getting out of hands, Cissy!" said a male voice Kayla recognized as Lucius'. "It doesn't matter what we do, you haven't gotten him to tell you he loves you! Or to admit that he doesn't love her." he yelled at her in a loud whisper.

"Just a little more time, Lucius. For some reason the Imperious Curse isn't working the way i had hoped. I'll get it working and then he'll be on our side and he'll never think about those blood traitors and mudbloods ever again. We'll have him working for the Dark Lord before you know it." Narcissa said in a soft, almost seductive tone. Kayla heard Lucius audibly sigh.

"Alright, I trust you, if you're so sure." Kayla peaked around the corner just in time to see Narcissa press her lips against Lucius's. Kayla covered her mouth with her hand and turn and ran from the sight to the Great Hall where she was sure the others were eating. She skidded to a halt just a few feet from the big doors, seeing Remus pacing in front of them, looking a bit impatient. He didn't seem to notice her yet, gathering up all the strength and confidence she could, she walked over to the doors.

"Have the snake bites healed?" She asked before walking in. Remus stopped and turned to her, surprised that she spoke to him.

"Yes." Was all he said. Kayla nodded and walked inside, hurrying over to the table and sitting down beside Lily, across from James, Sirius, Josie, and Peter.

"He's been Imperioused!" She said in a hush so no one else could hear. The rest of them looked confused at what she was saying and Lily sighed, looking sorry for her.

"Kayla, I know you want to make up excuses for his behavior, we all want to believe there's a real reason for it, but--" However, Lily couldn't try and convince Kayla against her theory because Kayla cut her off quickly.

"No! He is! I just overheard Lucius and Narcissa talking in the hall. Narcissa said the spell wasn't working the way it should because she can't get him to admit he loves her or that he's stopped loving me!" With every word she spoke, Kayla's voice became more excited, her face turning into a sort of smile.

"She said it was the Imperious?" James asked, still looking confused. Kayla nodded and relaid everything she had overheard.

"And then she kissed Lucius." Kayla trailed off after saying that, feeling anger and hatred for Narcissa welling up inside of her.

"We have to do something!" Josie said. The others looked around at each other, silently asking for advice. No one, however, seemed to have any suggestions.

"I wish there was some way we could try and convince him." Kayla's voice was beginning to shake now as the realization that Remus's actions were not his own being almost too much for her to bare.

"What if we somehow had him catch Lucius and Narcissa in the act." Sirius suggested.

"How, though? He wont listen to us and how are we going to know when Lucius and Narcissa are together?" Lily asked. James and Sirius's eyes widened and they looked at each other.

"The map." They said together. With that they both jumped up from the table, the girls and Peter following suit, and ran up to the common room. The three boys ran up to the dorm, leaving the three girls wondering what they had missed. A few minutes later, the three boys came back down the stairs holding a piece of folded up parchment. Sirius sat down on the couch, Kayla on one side, Josie on the other. Lily and James hovered over their shoulders behind them. Sirius pulled out his wand and tapped the parchment and muttered "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." And as if some invisible hand were drawing it, an entire map of Hogwarts appeared on the page. Shortly after, the girls noticed tiny little dots floating all over the school, each labeled with the name of a student or a teacher.

"What is this?" Kayla asked. James and Sirius grinned.

"One of our more genious inventions. Look for Narcissa's name." James told them.

"There. In the Slytherin common room. With Remus." Josie paused before saying the last part. They watched as the two dots sat, seemingly frozen, on the page in a corner of the Slytherin common room.

"So you're saying that we can see anyone in the school on this map? We can know where they are at all times?" Kayla asked. Sirius nodded.

"Yeah. So all we have to do is watch until we see Lucius and Narcissa alone together." He said.

"Yeah, then what?" Lily asked. "We still have to convince Remus to find them. How are we supposed to do that?" She continued. The six thought about it for a moment, then Peter spoke up.

"What if we stole something of his." The group turned and looked at him, not sure where he was going with it. Peter continued. "We could watch the map and when we see them together, we could steal something of his and have him chase one of us to wherever Lucius and Narcissa are." The rest of the group looked around at each other, not finding a flaw with his plan. They all nodded.

"That's settled then. We should take shifts for who's going to watch the map and when. And we need to decide who's going to be chased." James added.

"We should each take two hour shifts. And I think Kayla should be the one." Suggested Josie. Kayla looked around at her, shocked.

"Me? Why me?" Kayla asked. Suddenly James spoke.

"No. I don't think this is a good idea." Everyone turned to look at him, all silently asking him why. "Listen, the plan sounds good, but there are too many risks. We have to steal something from him when he's there to notice it's gone. He never is. Then we have to have him chase her without him using any means of magic to slow her. There's no way we can control that and it could be really dangerous in his state. Then, once he sees the two of them together, who knows how he'll react. This could completely backfire on us and end worse than it is now." James explained. No one said anything in argument, clearly seeing the that this plan was far too dangerous and complicated.

"What if we just waited until another full moon, then, when he's in the hospital wing, ask Madam Pomfrey to check for the curse." Lily suggested, simply.

"She'll want to know why." Said Sirius.

"That's easy, I'll just tell her what I heard. She'll have to check. If she refuses, we can take this to Professor Dumbledore." Kayla added. The group nodded their agreement, feeling this was a much better plan.

"When is the next full moon?" Josie asked. The girls looked between James and Sirius, figuring they'd still be keeping track of each full moon every month.

"It's in two weeks. Should we tell Madam Pomfrey now?" James asked.

"I think the sooner the better. That way, if she refuses, we have plenty of time to plead our case to Dumbledore." Concluded Kayla. Everyone nodded.

"We shouldn't all go and talk to her. Just a couple of us." Josie said.

"I'll go. I'm the one that heard Narcissa and Lucius talking." Kayla said.

"Alright, but I think we should go with you." Sirius said, motioning to himself and James. Kayla nodded and stood up.

"Lets get going, then." The three left Josie, Lily, and Peter sitting in the common room, eagerly awaiting the news. None of them spoke as the three made their way down to the hospital wing. Opening the door, they saw Madam Pomfrey tending a wound of a first year who had apparently wondered too close to the Whomping Willow, as many first years do before they learn to stear clear.

"Madam Pomfrey, we need to speak to you for a moment." Kayla said, catching her attention.

"Just a moment dears, almost finished." She finished healing the first year and sent him on his way, then turned to the three who just walked in. "Now, what was it that you wanted to speak to me about?" She asked, whiping her hands on her apron.

"It's about Remus Lupin." Sirius said. Madam Pomfrey looked curious for a moment, wiping the look from her face.

"Is he ill?" She asked.

"Well, no. Not exactly. We know he's in here alot and we were hoping we could ask you to check something for us next time he's here." James said. Madam Pomfrey's look of confusion returned and lingered for much longer than before.

"What exactly is it that you would like me to check?" She asked.

"We want you to look for an Imperious Curse." said Kayla. Madam Pomfrey laughed.

"Is this about his change of heart over the last few weeks? Look, I know it must have been hard, but I'm sure he's not been Imperioused." Madam Pomfrey said. Kayla shook her head.

"I am, Madam Pomfrey. I overheard Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black talking earlier and they said that the Curse wasn't working the way it was supposed to. He isn't under it's control completely. They're planning something, trying to win him over to their side." Kayla explained. Madam Pomfrey did not look convinced. Sighing, she made her decision.

"If you really heard this, Ms. Baxter, I think you should take it up with Professor Dumbledore." she concluded. Kayla sighed.

"It can't hurt to check, can it? He doesn't even have to know you're doing it. Believe me, Madam Pomfrey, he's been Cursed." Kayla argued.

"We'll see what the headmaster has to say about it." She ushered the small group out of the wing, closing and locking the door behind her as they went. She led them up to the headmaster's office, saying the password causing the gargoyle to leap aside, revealing a moving spiral staircase. They ascended the stairs and Madam Pomfrey knocked on the door. "Professor?" she called.

"Come in." Came Dumbledore's response. Madam Pomfrey opened the door and ushered the three students inside.

"These students have just informed me of their very distrubing suspicions. Very disturbing, indeed." She repeated. Albus Dumbledore eyed the three over his half-moon specticles with his piercing blue eyes. Kayla nearly lost her nerve to argue.

"Would you care to share it with me?" he asked patiently. Kayla gathered her strength again and stepped forward.

"Professor, we have reason to believe that Remus Lupin has been put under the Imperius Curse." she said, keeping her voice steady. A wrinkle formed between Dumbledore's eyebrows, wondering where this idea came from.

"Go on." He prompted. Kayla nodded and continued to explain to him what he had overheard in the hallway. Dumbledore sighed.

"And you're sure it was Mr. Lupin they were talking about?" He asked. Kayla nodded, silently pleading with him to believe her. Dumbledore nodded once.

"Alright, then. This is reasonable enough doubt to at least check. Madam Pomfrey, the next time Mr. Lupin graces your presence, check him for the curse." Dumbledore informed her. Madam Pomfrey nodded.

"Sir," Kayla pressed on, "is there anyway this could be done sooner?" she asked.

"Sooner than what?" Dumbledore asked. Kayla glanced back at James and Sirius, not sure how to continue without letting Dumbledore know that they knew about Remus's condition. Both boys nodded to her to continue, and she did.

"Sooner than the next full moon." Kayla braced herself for Dumbledore's reaction, but it never came. He merely smiled.

"I have known for some time that Mr. Black, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Pettigrew were aware of Mr. Lupin's condition. I realized it was only a matter of time before you found out as well, Ms. Baxter." He paused. "Unfortunately, the only way I feel comfortable doing this is when he's already in Madam Pomfrey's care. It would not be wise to risk putting him there other than for reasons he's already used to. If he is not Imperiused, " he raised his hand to silence Kayla as she was about to argue, "If he is not Imperiused, sending him to the hospital wing unecessarily will not end well for any of you. Two weeks is not that long to wait, Ms. Baxter. You will have to endure seeing him with Nacissa Black for a little longer." Dumbledore said, knowingly. Kayla nodded.

"Thank you, Professor. You will find the Curse, I promise." And with that, the three students and Madam Pomfrey left the office and headed back to their respective haunts.


	16. Chapter 16

Lucius sat alone in a dark, deserted classroom on the fourth floor. Silently, he flicked his wand back and forth causing smokey snakes to emit from the tip. After a few moments of lonely silence, the door creaked open and another body slid in.

"Are we all set for tomorrow night?" Lucius asked. The second figure walked over to where he was sitting and sat down on the desk in front of him, taking his face in her hands and kissing him softly.

"Completely. All we need is the full moon." Narcissa answered. Lucius grinned.

"They'll never know what hit them. Once that horrific little girl is out of the way, we'll have complete control." Lucius sneered, pulling Narcissa down onto his lap. She smirked at her true boyfriend.

"He'll be putty in my hands. Won't get to jealous, I hope." She toyed with him. Lucius scoffed?

"Jealous? Of the filthy half-blood? Darling, once we have no more use of him, I'll have no need to be jealous. We'll end the Curse and sit back and watch himself publicly torture himself to death for killing her at his own hands." Lucius said with an icy calm. Narcissa let out a high pitched giggle and locked lips with Lucius for a very long time.

Kayla began pacing the common room, recieving frustrated and annoyed glances from her four friends. "They're up to something tomorrow, I know it. They're planning something." She ranted for near the thousandth time. Sirius sighed and rolled his head back on the couch, his arm around Josie's shoulders, who was leaning against him, about to fall asleep.

"Yes, Kayla, we know you think that. But what, exactly? Do you even know it has anything to do with Lupin?" Sirius had taken to using Remus' last name out of spite. Kayla continued to pace and shook her head.

"I don't know. I'm sure it has something to do with Remus, though." Kayla emphasized his name as she tended to do in her silent battle with Sirius to forgive Remus for his uncontrolable actions."I know I saw them this morning at breakfast! She winked at Lucius from across the table, with Remus sitting right there! I don't trust them at all." Josie sat up for a moment.

"Nor should you, Kayla. No one is suggesting they're trustworthy. But you keep saying this over and over and we're not getting anywhere new." She said as she readjusted herself in Sirius's arms. Lily was silent in the conversation, having fallen asleep against James about an hour earlier, finally growing tired of Kayla's circles. James had stopped listening and was playing with a strand of Lily's long hair. Kayla finally sat down on an armchair and went silent, giving the rest of the group permission to head off to bed.

The next morning, Kayla awoke the next morning, realizing she had fallen asleep on that chair. She stretched and headed upstairs to get ready for the day, mind still reeling about what was being planned for that night. Finally deciding what she needed to do, she made her announcement at breakfast when the whole group had joined her.

"I'm going down there tonight. To the Shrieking Shack." She said, recieving looks of shock and fear from the rest.

"Kayla! Are you mad? You can't go down there, especially not alone. Especially if they really are planning something!" Lily argued.

"Exactly. If you're going down there, we're coming with you! If he catches you, we're your only hope to get out alive." James argued. "At least let us come under the Invisibility Cloak." He added. Kayla shook her head.

"No. I can't do that, it'll be too obvious, even with the cloak. They will never expect me to be there alone, they'll know you're there and they'll know what to do about it." Kayla argued.

"And what, exactly, do you think you're going to do once you go down there?" Josie asked, not liking this idea at all. Kayla paused for a moment, not really sure what she had planned to do. In the deepest part of her heart, however, she knew it was the right thing to do.

"I don't know, exactly. But I can't just leave them to do whatever they're planning to him. I mean they're cruel enough to Curse him, what else are they capable of?" Kayla asked, nearly pleading with them to agree with her gut feelings. No one argued with her further, feeling there was no way of convincing her otherwise. Kayla had potions that day. For the past few weeks, Remus had been attending fewer and fewer potions lessons. Kayla had been advised to join Maggie and Peter's group, much to Maggie's pleasure, when Remus was not present. When he was, however, very little was spoken between the two. Kayla's potion abilites were becoming worse and worse, distracted by Remus's indifference to her. Today, however, was different. Kayla sat down at her seat to find that Remus was already there. Recieving the same silence as always, Kayla finally lost her nerve. In the middle of chopping up ingredients for that day's assignment, she slammed down her knife and turned to him.

"How can you be this stupid, Remus?" she asked fiercely. A few people around them turned to see what was going on to see Kayla staring daggers at Remus, and Remus, surprisingly, not responding. "She's playing you, Remus, can't you see it? She spends less time with you than she does with Lucius. How can you be so blind?" Still Remus didn't respond. "They're using you! Remus, you have to snap out of this!" Remus made no sign of hearing her. Kayla's harsh whispers were gathering more and more eyes to their table. Sirius and Josie watched on, ready to restrain either of them. Lily and James also watched, feeling more sorry for Kayla by the minute. "She's a snake, Remus! Just as slimy and slick as Lucius! What sense do you make, being with her? She's monsterous!" Still not looking at her, he finally responded.

"That's just it, Baxter. You hate her because I'm with her and not you. Why don't you just move on? I have." With that, he got up and left the class, leaving Kayla in her seat, dumbfounded and hurt. Though she knew that it wasn't really him saying this, Kayla couldn't help but want to do just what he said, move on. The bell rang, Kayla had no idea how long after Remus left. Knowing that going to classes for the rest of the afternoon would be completely pointless, Kayla went up to the dorm and spent the rest of the afternoon in bed.

When night finally rolled around, Kayla climbed out of bed and went downstairs to the common room to find her usual group in their usual places, talking. Josie looked up and saw Kayla enter slowly, half smiling at the group.

"Hey, Kayla. You ok?" she asked sweetly. Kayla nodded.

"Fine. I think I'm going to go for a walk. I'll see you guys later." She started to head for the door before Sirius stopped her.

"Wait! A walk where?" he asked. Kayla stopped and turned, looking confused, then remembered what they had argued about that morning.

"Oh, I'm not going down there. You were right, I didn't know what I was going to do. I don't even have a real reason to believe they're up to anything. I'm just anxious about what Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore are going to say tomorrow." Kayla said, being totally honest. Sirius sat back in his spot beside Josie, deciding to believe her. "So I'll see you later?" She asked, making sure it was ok for her to go. The rest nodded and waved good-bye and Kayla walked out of the room.

Wondering through the halls, thinking to herself about everything that's happened over the past few weeks, hoping beyond anything that they'd find the Imperius Curse and reverse it in the morning. She stopped in a deserted hallway and leaned up against a wall. Out of the silence she began to hear what sounded like padded footsteps coming up the hall. As it came closer, she began to hear clicking sounds with every step. She looked down the hall to see a pair of gleeming yellow eyes charging down the passage at her. When it was finally in view, and Kayla was standing, wand ready, she realized what she was facing. There in front of her, standing at the ready, teeth beared, was a wolf, larger than normal size, ready to attack. Slowly, Kayla began to walk backwards, heart pounding, breath quickening. Just as the wolf took a leap at her, she shouted "_STUPEFY!_" and the beast went flying backwards. She took her chance and turned and ran, full tilt down the hall. Moments later, she heard the same padded, clicking footsteps from behind. She glanced over her shoulder to see the same gleaming eyes. She turned, ready to fire another jinx at it, it leapt and tackled her to the ground. Kayla reached her arm out to catch herself on something, but only managed to graze her arm on the brick wall. The wolf went to swipe at her neck, but only managed to snag a claw on her robes, lodging it in his claws. Kayla took the moment to raise her wand and yell "_PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!_" freezing the wolf where it stood. Shoving him off her, she ran back to the common room, panting, sweating, a trickle of blood running down her cut arm. Lily was the first to notice.

"KAYLA! What happened?" She asked, jumping up from the couch and rushing over to her.

"He's here...in the school. Remus. That's what they were planning. I think he was meant to kill...to kill..." but she was unable to get the words out.

"Where is he?" James asked, rushing over to her with the rest of the group.

"I left him petrified on the fourth floor." James turned to Sirius.

"We need to tell Dumbledore." Sirius nodded and hurried out of the room, wand ready in case Remus broke free of the jinx. After informing Dumbledore, he was informed to go back to the common room and not leave, and to inform the others to do so as well. Dumbledore summoned the other Heads of House to inform them of the attack, but warned them not to inform their students as no one else was aware of the situation. Calling On Dumbledore's orders, Hagrid levitated the petrified werewolf to the hospital wing where he was locked in Madam Pomfrey's office until the morning, heavily guarded by teachers, Madam Pomfrey, and several protective charms.


	17. Chapter 17

-1Kayla remained in the common room for the rest of the night. Josie and Lily stayed with her, afraid to leave her alone, though she fell asleep about two hours after her encounter with the werewolf. Sirius and James had gone to bed an hour earlier after exhausting their many theories of how Remus got in the school in the first place. Kayla insisted that Lucius and Narcissa were behind it.

The moon set and Remus slowly began to transform back into himself, having been released from his petrified state and locked inside Madam Pomfrey's office. He stretched his legs in front of him, trying to recall how he had wound up in a room inside the school. Not able to remember anything after he had transformed, he settled on trying to remember the last thing he had seen before. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, minus the presents of a few good friends who had not attended this months full moon. Then, like a lightning bolt, he remembered. The sneering face of Lucius Malfoy standing next to his new girlfriend, Narcissa. Remus struggled hard to remember if these were events from that night, or a memory from that week that was sneaking back into his head.

He went to stand up when something fell with a clank on the floor. He looked down and saw a thin silver chain that had been broken, a locket laying a few inches away from it, having slipped off the end. Remus bent down painfully and picked it up, immediately recognizing it. Did this mean he had attacked her? There was the tiniest blood stain on the locket, causing Remus' heart to jump into his throat. A feeling of guilt and panic arose in him as unexplainable as his first feelings toward Narcissa.

Laying just inches from where he had found the locket, Remus noticed a small patch of clothing. He fought the idea that this might also belong to Kayla. He took the two items from the previous night's events and limped to the door, a sharp searing pain in his right leg. He found it to be unlocked, knowing that someone had done so once the sun had risen. Stepping out of the office and into the corridor of the hospital wing, Remus glanced around and spotted an unusual form sitting on a hospital bed a few feet away.

Professor Dumbledore smiled up at Remus and stood from his spot. "Good morning, Remus. Please, sit down. You must be exhausted." Remus obliged and walked over to the bed Dumbledore had motioned to and took a seat at the head, giving the headmaster confused glances every now and then.

"I bet you are wondering why I'm here. And, I would guess, how you ended up in Madam Pomfrey's office." He asked, conversationally. Remus didn't speak, but nodded shortly. "I happen to be wondering a few things myself, actually. Like how you ended up in the castle. Were you not in the Shrieking Shack last night?" Dumbledore asked with no sense of accusation in his voice whatsoever. Remus shook his head.

"I was in the Shrieking Shack, sir. I don't know how I got here." he answered honestly. Dumbledore nodded as if this was what he had expected.

"Do you remember anyone or anything before you changed?" He asked with the same conversational tone. Remus shook his head, then the image of Lucius and Narcissa returned. This time, Lucius was standing beside the open door of the room Remus occupied during full moons, Narcissa beckoning him into the hall. This, Remus knew, was not a random memory as he had never been to the Shack with either of them.

"Actually, Professor…I do remember someone." He answered, not sure why he was about to turn in his girlfriend. Dumbledore nodded again, the same nod as before.

"They wouldn't have happened to be a couple of your new friends, would they?" he asked, just as calm as ever. Remus wondered how he could know this, but assumed it was another of Dumbledore's many omnipotent-like qualities. Remus thought of whether he should answer truthfully or not, but decided it was best not to lie to the one man that would have allowed him to attend school in the first place. He nodded slowly, not meeting Dumbledore's gaze, something inside of him saying _**I told you not to trust them.**_ Dumbledore sighed, but pursued the matter no further.

"Madam Pomfrey wont be able to tend your wounds this morning, she's been called to another matter." Dumbledore explained. Remus had an unexplainable sinking feeling that it was Kayla he was speaking of. Before Remus was able to ask what had happened that night, Dumbledore stood and pulled out his wand.

"As she will not be able to be here, I will be taking care of things. Now, I assume you're having pain in your leg, yes?" He asked, pointing his wand at Remus' leg before he had a chance to respond and healing it. The sharp pain was gone.

"Thanks, Professor." He muttered. Dumbledore nodded and rose his wand again. "Sir, I don't think I'm wounded anywhere else." Remus stated.

"No, Mr. Lupin, I don't suspect you are. However, there is another matter that I've been asked to investigate. I believe that once I've finished, no explanation will be needed." He added as Remus opened his mouth to question him. Dumbledore made a sweeping motion with his wand and at once, months worth of memories flooded Remus's memory. Though he remembered his original reactions to the events, they were replaced by remorse, disgust, and heartache. His eyes widened.

"Was…" he began, but found the words difficult to say. "Was I…?" He couldn't seem to finish the sentence. Dumbledore pocketed his wand and sat down beside a dumbfounded Remus.

"Imperiused? Yes, I'm afraid you were." Remus stared at nothing in particular as images of Narcissa, Kayla, Lucius, and snakes flooded his mind. Had he really left Gryffindor for Slytherin? Had he left Kayla for Narcissa? Finally remembering the items still gripped in his hand, he looked down at it. His heart immediately began to race, his breath quickened and he felt a lump growing in his throat.

"Is she…Is Kayla…alright?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly. Dumbledore nodded.

"Oh yes, she's quite alright. Shaken, understandably. However, she was thankfully quick with her wand and you left her unharmed." Dumbledore assured him. Remus looked at the small blood spot on the locket and raised it up.

"Then where did this come from?" he asked, hoping that it had nothing to do with him.

"Oh that. Well, you did attack her, I'm afraid. However, that blood is from a rather nasty scrape she received on a brick wall. As I said, Mr. Lupin, you did not harm her." Remus breathed a sigh of relief, however the lump did not disappear, nor did his heart or breathing slow.

"Where is she?" he asked, his voice becoming weaker by the minute. Dumbledore grinned, knowing the counter-curse had worked as he had planned.

"She is in the Gryffindor common room, Madam Pomfrey is patching her up. We felt it was better not to have you two in the same room just yet. I'll send word for Madam Pomfrey to bring Ms. Baxter here just as soon as she's ready." Remus nodded, fearing that she wouldn't be ready for quite some time.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Hey all. Don't worry, I haven't abandoned you again! I just moved into my new place and I haven't had the interenet for a week, but I have been writing, so here are two chapters for you...ok so I need to know. Chapter 19 ends kind of abruptly, I wasn't sure what to do with it...I need to know what everyone thinks, should I continue the story from after Hogwarts, before James and Lily die? I have a few ideas of what to do, but I'm not sure if it would be overkill on a good thing. So let me know what you think

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Madam Pomfrey healed Kayla with great ease, not even a scar was left. Just as she was about to leave, the portrait to the common room swung open. To everyone's great surprise, in stepped the Headmaster.

"Good morning, Gryffindors." he addressed the room of 5. "How is everyone this morning?" he asked cheerily. Kayla was slightly irritated by his calm considering last night's events.

"Just fine." Madam Pomfrey answered for them. "Ms. Baxter's arm has healed just fine and I've given her something to calm her down." she informed him. Dumbledore nodded.

"Splendid, splendid." he then turned to the group sitting beside the fire, girls on one couch, Sirius on an arm chair beside Josie, and James leaning over the couch, one hand on Lily's shoulder. "I trust you are all aware of the intrusion into our school last night." It was more of a statement than a question, the answer was clearly written on everyone's faces from the moment he stepped into the common room.

"Professor, did they-" began James, but Dumbledore cut him off.

"Mr. Lupin is in the hospital wing. His injuries from last night were relatively minor, he should be out in a few hours once Madam Pomfrey feels it is safe." He explained. James nodded, but continued.

"Yes, but did you-" Yet again, Dumbledore cut him off, addressing Kayla.

"Ms. Baxter, I realize the state you must be in, however he has expressed a wish to see you." Kayla gave the Headmaster a look of jumbled surprise and confusion.

"He asked for me?" she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Well, not in so many words. However, I gathered the question was not far from his mind. He is ready to receive visitors whenever you are ready." He acted as though he were addressing the group as a whole, but Kayla knew his last sentence was more for her than for anyone else. With a cordial wave, and nothing else spoken, Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey left the common room together, leaving the five to their thoughts.

"Do you think he really wants to see her?" Sirius asked. Josie shrugged.

"I don't know. I suppose if he was Imperiused, Dumbledore would have lifted the Curse by now. Maybe he does want to see her." she responded.

"Do you think we should go down with her, just in case?" James asked. Kayla sat in silence as her four friends talked as if she weren't there.

"No, Kayla can take care of herself. Besides, if the Curse has been lifted, I doubt Remus will want a huge group surrounding him. It's best to let her go alone, I think." Lily answered, looking up at James. Kayla sighed and spoke for the first time.

"No, I should go alone. As Dumbledore said, he wants to see me." she said simply, her voice sounded resigned to the idea, rather than excited, afraid, or anxious. No one said anything to her as she sat for a few more seconds, as if she had to convince herself to get up. Once she finally did so, she wiped invisible dust and dirt from the front of her clothes, the same she had worn the night before, and sighed, as if to relax herself. "Wish me luck." she said, giving the rest of them a nervous look as she head out of the common room and down to the hospital wing.

She opened the great doors that led to the hall of sickbeds and closed them behind her, standing at the entrance. She saw a single body sitting up in a bed at the far end of the corridor. Hesitantly, she began to move forward as Remus's features came into full view. He was sitting hunched over, his elbows on his knees and his nose and mouth were covered by his hands. Kayla stopped two beds away from his. Remus glanced over at her and dropped his hands, not looking at her.

"I suppose if I were you I wouldn't want to come closer either." His voice sounded hoarse as if he had been yelling…or crying. Kayla felt guilty at the fact that she was unable to move herself any closer, but sat down on the bed nonetheless.

"Dumbledore's been to see me." He said, after Kayla said nothing. "I've been a bit of an ass lately, haven't I?" he continued his one sided conversation as Kayla continued to sit in silence. "I'm surprised you're here so soon." He looked at her for the second time since she entered. Kayla's guilt swelled as she noticed unshed tears in his eyes. It was strange, Kayla thought, that what was keeping her from him wasn't fear, at least not the same sort of fear that had caused her to run to her dorm the morning after she learned of his condition. What was keeping her from him this time was the memory of the past couple of months. Though Kayla knew it wasn't his fault, however that fact didn't make the hurt any less.

"Who found out about the Curse?" he asked, looking away from her again when she didn't respond to his last statement.

Speaking for the first time since she entered the wing, Kayla said, "I did. I overheard Narcissa and Lucius talking."

"You tried to warn me." Remus said, recalling the conversation the day before where he had told Kayla to "move on" as he had. Kayla nodded. Kayla didn't respond as Remus buried his face in his hands again. His mind filled with thoughts of the night before. What if he had hurt her? What if he had bit her? He couldn't bare the thought of this happening again.

Kayla stood from her spot on the bed and moved over to sit beside on the bed next to his. Slowly, she reached out a hand and placed it gently on his shoulder. Without so much as a glance at her, he took her hand in his and pulled her over next to him and wrapped his arms around her tightly. Kayla didn't speak, but lifted her arms around him and held him gently, afraid to press against any wounds.

"Dumbledore said I didn't harm you. I couldn't believe him, though. Not until I had seen you myself." His voice was barely a whisper. Kayla was afraid to speak, feeling a lump growing steadily in her throat. For a few blissful moments, there were no worries. No fear, no panic, no dread, no hurt. Both hearts content to be in the other's arms. Remus, being under the Imperius Curse had forgotten how good it felt to have Kayla pressed against him. Kayla had longed for this feeling for weeks, all she wanted in the world was to feel him beside her.

The few precious moments were fleeting, however. Jerking Remus back to his painful reality, all the horrible possibilities of that night flooded his mind. Images of Kayla in a hospital bed, of him covered in her blood, tore at his brain. Letting his arms fall to her hands, looking her in the eye, he struggled with what he was about to say. Kayla, however, made his job much easier.

"You don't want to be with me." she said, with such calm and resignation one would have thought it's what she wanted too. Remus gave her an apologetic look before he spoke.

"Kayla…It's too dangerous." he said weakly. Kayla shook her head and looked away, beginning to feel angry with him.

"Do you really think it's too dangerous, Remus. Or are you just afraid that I couldn't love you?" she asked, not looking at him.

"Well," he paused, considering his options, "both. How could you possibly love what I am?" he asked. Kayla looked at him, her eyes filled with angry and hurting tears.

"How could I love you? How? It doesn't matter how, Remus. What matters is that I do." she argued, fighting to keep her voice steady.

"You didn't see the look you gave me that morning. You would have thought I still had fangs." Kayla's look softened momentarily.

"I was so frightened." Remus gave her an I-told-you-so look before she continued. "Remus, imagine walking into a room and seeing the person you love changing into an unrecognizable….monster." She immediately regretted her choice of word, but Remus gave no reaction.

"I could have hurt you…killed you, even." he said, thinking not only of the first night she had seen him like that, but the previous night as well.

"Remus, nothing will change. I've been here for almost a full year without knowing, and there was nothing wrong with us being friends, was there?" Kayla argued. Remus considered it for a moment, then shook his head.

"This has happened before, Kayla. With Maggie." Kayla looked surprised, but didn't say anything, hoping he'd continue. "She didn't know, but she had a feeling something wasn't right. I was always in the hospital, there was always a different excuse. We were only together for a few months and she saw the pattern. She couldn't handle it, and I couldn't take lying to her." He explained.

"I know, though. You don't have to lie to me. Remus, think about it. What will change? You will still go to the Shack. James, Sirius, and Peter will still be there with you. You will still come to the hospital wing every morning. The only difference will be that someone will be in that bed, waiting for you to wake up." She motioned toward the bed beside his. He stared at it as if considering the idea of waking up to her on those mornings. For a moment, Kayla swore she saw a smile creep across his face, but it disappeared. Kayla sighed.

"If it's what you really want, Remus, we can end it her. Right now. I wont argue anymore and we'll both move on. Just know that I will never leave you because of your condition. I will never stop loving you." she said, really emphasizing her last sentence. Remus still didn't say anything, so Kayla took her last chance. "I don't think it's what you want at all. You haven't let go of my hand." Remus looked down at their hands and then up into her eyes. The lump that had disappeared from Kayla's throat returned, seeing still more unshed tears in his eyes.

"I don't want it." he said, and with that he dropped her hands and lifted her mouth to his, kissing her like he had never kissed her before.


	19. Chapter 19

-1Remus was released from Madam Pomfrey's care and reentered the Gryffindor common room with hugs and claps on the back from welcoming friends. The last few weeks of school were blissful and drama free. Kayla and Remus remained together. There was only one more full moon before the end of term and, as Kayla had promised, nothing had changed. Remus was still accompanied by his three best friends, he woke up in the hospital wing the next morning, and there, in the bed beside him was Kayla, the only change in his monthly routine.

James and Lily grew closer and closer. The night the three girls had followed James, Sirius, and Peter to the Shrieking Shack had struck Lily with a new found desire to show James her true feelings toward him. Two weeks after Remus had rejoined the group, he, Kayla, Josie, and Sirius were surprised to find Lily and James snogging in the common room when they thought no one was looking. Sirius relentlessly taunted James about the length of time it took for him to finally be able to call Lily his girlfriend. James ignored him, though, ecstatic to finally be part of the couple crowd.

Sirius and Josie were just as happy as ever. They took their final trip to Hogsmeade together, as did Kayla and Remus and James and Lily. The six decided to take their day with each other and went their separate ways. Sirius and Josie spent the afternoon in the Three Broomsticks, their favorite spot in Hogsmeade, laughing and drinking butterbeers and talking with the bar maid, Madam Rosemerta. James and Lily spent their first trip to Hogsmeade as a couple at Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, a popular haunt for couples. Kayla and Remus spent their last trip to Hogsmeade walking around the town hand in hand, generally enjoying each other's company.

The six were rather sad about the end of term coming. Sirius dreaded going back to his family and knew that Josie wouldn't be aloud to visit him, being that her mother was a muggle. James told him to forget going home and stay with his family all summer, an idea that seemed all too inviting to Sirius. Kayla was less upset about the end of term than the others. She knew her family would love Remus and would be more than happy to have him visit. Josie was contemplating the idea of asking her parents to allow her to spend the summer at the Potter's, so she could be with Sirius. James didn't mind the idea and figured that his parents wouldn't either. He offered for Remus to visit as well, but he declined saying that he'd be spending most of his time with Kayla.

The six rode back to Kings Cross Station together, laughing and joking about the past year, other students, and what the summer would bring. Kayla had not written to her parents about Remus, not really wanting to her mother's "I told you so" to jinx anything, so she had no idea what to expect from them when she got off the train, hand in hand with Remus. She grinned and waved at her parents as she climbed off the train. His father was eyeing Remus the way only a father could examine his only daughter's first boyfriend. Her mother gave Kayla a wide smile. Kayla knew what she was thinking, but was thankful when she said nothing.

"Mum, Dad. This is Remus." she said, smiling up at him. Remus smiled and shook both her parent's hands.

"Nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Baxter." he said in his most respectful tone, clearly nervous about meeting her parents for the first time.

"Nice to meet you to, Remus. Well, this is quite a surprise. How did you get our daughter to lower her walls?" Mrs. Baxter asked. Remus laughed a little.

"To be honest, I have no idea." he said. Kayla's mother grinned at her.

"And your grades?" she asked, wanting desperately to have proved to her daughter that boys aren't recipes for failure. Kayla gave her an annoyed smile.

"I passed everything. Nearly failed Potions, though, and it was all his fault." She said, jabbing Remus in the ribs with her finger. Remus jumped a bit and looked down at her.

"What?! My fault?" Mr. and Mrs. Baxter laughed when Kayla told them of the explosions that had nearly caused them to nearly fail half of their assignments. Kayla asked them about having Remus come stay for part of the summer. Her parents offered for him to stay the whole summer, which Kayla was very pleased to hear. Remus declined the whole summer, however, and offered to stay a couple weeks out of each month. Kayla knew it was because of the full moon, not wanting to frighten her parents off. They agreed that he would come visit in a week, so Kayla gave him a quick kiss good-bye, which he reluctantly returned, not wanting that to be the last image her parents had of them together.

Remus and Kayla kept their promise to see each other two weeks out of every month. Her parents got to know him and couldn't have enough nice things to say about him. Mrs. Baxter teased Kayla constantly about the first impression Kayla had of Remus. Kayla told her mother the pranks they had pulled on her and the arguments they had had before they started dating. She did not, however, tell her about the fight that had occurred just days after they had started dating. Kayla had discussed with Remus, on his first visit, that his situation would remain a secret until just the right time.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Hey everyone! I've got a looooooooooong chapter for you! I hope you like it! I chose to go ahead and continue the story. This will be the only chapter from this time point, the rest of the chapters will take place as Harry's going through school. It will still revolve around the Sirius, Remus, Josie, and Kayla, but the story lines will go more along with J.K.'s original story lines, with my own flare thrown in. I hope everyone likes it as much as my previous chapters! It'll still be gushy and romantic and their will be plenty of internal and external drama. Hope you like it!!

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The years went by at Hogwarts and the seven friends graduated. James, to everyone's surprise, excelled, being one of those lucky students who could not pay attention, but manage a passing grade. Sirius was not so lucky, failed several courses, but managed just enough to actually graduate. Remus was made house prefect. He suspected that it was to try and keep James and Sirius in line, however it seemed to keep them out of punishment rather than out of trouble. Peter barely scraped passing grades in most of his classes. He didn't fail quite as many as Sirius, but wasn't about to be named the top of the class.

Josie, Kayla, and Lily didn't struggle to reach passing status in all of their classes. Kayla and Lily fought for top marks in all of their classes, managing to equal each other in many. In the end, both girls managed top marks, Kayla just slightly behind Lily. Josie landed herself in the middle, which was an astounding feet as Sirius hardly gave her time to study (Josie never complained).

All three couples managed to survive the years and continued to enjoy each other's company in school and out. But amidst all the happiness, a dark force was rising. A wizard calling himself Lord Voldemort was rapidly becoming more and more powerful as he began to recruit followers, both man and beast, to the dark side of magic. Rumors were beginning to form that there had never been a more powerful dark wizard in all history. Many said that he would surpass even Grindelwald, the dark wizard Albus Dumbledore defeated in a legendary duel in 1945. Many mysterious deaths plagued both wizarding and muggle worlds alike. Voldemort's followers preached purity and superiority for all wizards. Muggles were bugs to be crushed, as well as any witch or wizard born of muggle parents. He was building an army intent on purifying wizards and bringing all magic out of hiding once and for all.

Many believed that no one could stop Lord Voldemort. His power was far too great. Many had heard stories of magic unlike anyone had ever seen. Few believed anyone could match it. There was one man, however, who refused to go down without a fight. Dumbledore created a secret society, The Order of the Phoenix, to fight the Dark Lord and his followers. He recruited Aurors and those who were most loyal to him. Needless to say, when James, Sirius, Remus, Kayla, Josie, Lily, and Peter heard tell of such a group, they were eager to join. They attempted to track Voldemort's whereabouts, devised plans for attack and possible outcomes, and more plans for each. No amount of planning, however, could have prevented what happened just four short years after the seven left Hogwarts for good.

James sat in the living room, spinning and running around the room, holding his one-year-old son above his head as if he were flying. The boy looked just like James, but everyone who met him said he had his mother's eyes. The boy laughed and screamed with joy as his father dipped him and swerved him around the furniture. The child screamed even louder when the door to the room opened and his mother walked in. Their son had not inherited Lily's bright red, flowing locks, but sported James's unruly black tuft of hair.

"Time for dinner, Harry!" Lily cooed at her child as James flopped himself on the couch after handing Harry to Lily. James watched his wife bottle feed their one and only son and smiled.

"We were the last to end up together, and the first to produce a child. What are the odds?" Lily grinned at him when he said this, but a movement caught her eye outside the window. Looking out into the dark lawn, a bright, floating head was being illuminated by the light of the moon. Lily's eyes widened as she struggled to recognize the face.

"James…he's here!" she said, her voice full of fear. James grabbed his wand off the table beside the couch and leapt to his feet, staring out the window as the head seemed to float smoothly along their front path to the door.

"Take Harry and hide!" He shouted at her as they heard the front door blast open. Lily covered Harry's head, holding him close to her chest and ran from the room, James followed. Lily ran into Harry's bedroom, placing him in the crib, trying to stop his crying. James ran down the hall and stopped at the top of the stairs as the head appeared at the foot, along with the rest of the owner's body.

"Where is he?" asked the man, his voice high and cold. James held his wand pointed straight at the man.

"He's not yours to have!" he yelled, shooting a spell at the man. With an almost lazy flick of his wand, the snake like form at the bottom of the stairs deflected the curse with ease and began to climb the stairs.

"You don't have to die, Potter. You and your wife can live. _Just_ _give me the boy!_" he shouted, raising his wand. James backed up from the stairs as the man continued to climb.

"You can't have him, Voldemort!" he yelled, flicking his wand sending another curse toward him. Again, Voldemort deflected it with ease.

"Oh I can. Your son will be mine, whether you live or…._die!_" Voldemort raised his wand and before James even had time to think, a stream of bright green light hit him square in the chest. Without so much as a whimper, James crumpled to the ground, limp and lifeless. Voldemort casually stepped over his body, and headed toward the room where Harry's cries could still be heard.

Lily spun on the spot, flinging her arms out to hide Harry as the bedroom door flew off it's hinges.

"NO! Not Harry!" she pleaded, tears streaming down her face as her eyes fell on the lifeless legs of her husband outside the door. Voldemort's nearly nonexistent upper lip curled to a sneer.

"As I told your husband, Lily Evans. You do not have to die. Your husband did not have to die. Just give me the boy!" he held his wand to her chest as she stood stalk still in front of Harry's crib.

"Never! You can't harm him, he's only a child!" she continued to plead. "Kill me instead, take me instead! Don't hurt Harry!" her pleas were coming in sobs and screams, but fell on deaf ears.

"You're just as foolish as your husband, filthy mudblood! _AVADA KEDAVRA!_" And as Lily spun to hide Harry from the green flash of light shooting toward them, it hit her square in the back, causing her to fall limp like a puppet who's strings had been cut. Voldemort smirked. "It did not have to be this way." he said in a soft, heartless tone to Lily's lifeless form. His attention then turned to the small child standing against the railing of his crib. Harry looked up at Voldemort with his brilliant green eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks. The sight would have been heart wrenching to anyone. The problem was, Voldemort had no heart. Without a blink of an eye, he raised his wand to Harry's head and shouted the two words that had killed his parents.

Several things happened all at once as soon as the light had flown from the tip of his wand. The curse seemed to have hit an invisible barrier around Harry's crib, fanning out like water hitting a brick wall. Voldemort let out a scream of defeat as one of the jets of light hit him full in the chest. Harry, however, was unharmed except for one gash to his forehead.

Miles away, the door to Remus's kitchen burst open following a loud crack from his living room. Kayla ran in, tears streaming down her face, flinging her arms around him.

"What's the matter?" Remus asked. He started to feel panicked as Kayla released a violent sob. She gasped for breath, trying to find her voice.

"I-I-it's Lily…a-a-and J-James! Th..th…" But Kayla was unable to finish the sentence.

"What happened to Lily and James, Kayla?" he asked, pulling her off of him and getting her to look him in the eye.

"They're dead!" she sobbed, collapsing to her knees on his kitchen floor. Remus knelt down beside her and wrapped his arms around her comfortingly, rocking her slightly. He was unable to think of anything to say. Could his best friend really be dead? Just then an owl swooped through the open window and landed on the kitchen table, holding out it's leg for Remus to take the note attached. He helped Kayla into a sitting position against a cabinet and got up, taking the note from the owl who flew off out the window. He instantly recognized Dumbledore's handwriting confirming what Kayla had just told him.

"But…How? They were…their house was under the Fidelius Charm." Remus stammered. "How could he have…" but his words trailed off as a dismal thought occurred to him. "You don't think…" but he couldn't manage to answer the question, the thought was far too difficult.

"Sirius couldn't have done it. He wouldn't have!" Kayla sobbed. How could Sirius, James's best friend, as good as a brother, how could he possibly have betrayed them?

"How else would he have found them, Kayla?" he asked, voice shaking. Kayla shook her head wildly, refusing to believe that Josie's long time boyfriend could do such a thing.

"I don't know, I don't know…He just couldn't have!" They sat in silence, except for the occasional sob and sniffle from Kayla, contemplating the deaths of two of their best friends.

Simultaneously, Josie Apparated into Sirius's living room, looking around wildly, eyes gushing.

"SIRIUS?" she shouted, spinning around, running from room to room looking for him. "Where are you? SIRIUS?" but no answer ever came. No answer would come for at that same moment, Sirius was on his way to visit an old friend.

"Take Harry. Take him to Dumbledore, he'll know what to do! Take my bike, it'll be faster than flying." He said, shoving the small bundle that was Harry into the giant arms of Rubeus Hagrid.

"Bu', Sirius! Wha' happened ter James an' Lily?" Hagrid asked, taken more than slightly aback by Sirius's behavior.

"I can't explain. Just do as I say!" and with that he Disapparated, leaving Hagrid dumbfounded and confused.

Sirius appeared in a dark, deserted street of a Muggle neighborhood. He looked around wildly for signs of movement.

"PETER? Come out, Peter, I want a word with you!" He shouted, a hint of insanity to his voice. A nearby bush rustled and a short, chubby blur darted from it, running up the street. Sirius chased after him, grabbing his arm just as Peter Disapparated, taking Sirius with him. They landed in a crowded street. Sirius shoved Peter against a wall, holding his wand tight to Peter's neck.

"How about it, Wormtail? Ready to suffer the dementor's kiss for serving your dear master?" Sirius whispered gruffly. Peter's eyes darted around wildly as a small crowd began to form around them. The appearance of the two men dressed in robes, one holding a stick to the other's neck wasn't anything these Muggles had seen before. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck Peter. He turned his mousy face back to Sirius and grinned.

"No, Padfoot. Are you?" And with that, Peter vanished in a flash of light, leaving nothing but a finger. Looking around him, Sirius noticed he was standing in a shallow crater, scattered with the dead bodies of the Muggles who had come to watch. Realization dawned on him. Peter had pinned him with the murder.

"PETER, YOU PRAT!" he shouted at nothing. "YOU CAN'T HIDE FOREVER!" Just then, several ministry officials Apparated beside him. One wrenched Sirius's arms behind his back.

"Tha's enough outta you." one said as he restrained Sirius. Another man began reading off charges from a scroll of parchment. As his name was being linked to the death's of James and Lily, as well as Peter, and the 13 Muggle bystanders, something inside Sirius's head snapped. He threw his head back in shrill, barking laughter. One official leaned toward another and muttered.

"Poor Pettigrew. The man never stood a chance against this one." And with that Sirius was whisked away to Azkaban.

Kayla had fallen asleep on Remus's floor. She awoke to find that she had been given a pillow and a blanket at some point during the night. She sat up and looked around the kitchen, but it was empty except for a tawny owl perched on top of a cabinet. It flew down to her as she stood up, dropping a letter at her feet and flying out of the still open window. Kayla picked up the letter and left the kitchen in search of Remus. When she did not find him, she sat down on a couch and opened the letter. It was from Dumbledore requesting the Order to meet at his office in Hogwarts as soon as possible.

Once Kayla was satisfied that Remus was nowhere to be found, she Disapparated outside of Hogwarts castle. When she reached Dumbledore's office, she found that the gargoyle had already leapt aside and the spiral staircase was waiting for her. She climbed the stairs and opened the door to find the whole Order waiting. Well, minus five. Many people were crying. Frank Longbottom was holding his wife, Alice, in his arms as she sobbed silently. Josie sat in a chair, Alastor Mad-eye Moody resting a hand on her shaking shoulder. Kayla glanced around the office, but found one unexpected person missing. Remus wasn't there. Kayla didn't mention this to anyone, hoping that he had not arrived yet. She was surprised, however, that Dumbledore began the meeting proceedings without him.

"As you all have heard, we have yet again suffered a great loss to our cause. James and Lily Potter have been murdered in their home in Godric's Hollow." Dumbledore announced, unnecessarily as it was clear that all had been informed already.

"What happened to Harry?" Josie asked in a hoarse voice, she apparently had been crying for hours.

"Harry has been taken to live with Lily's family in Little Whinging as his god-father and legal guardian has been arrested for murder." This, however, had not been common knowledge. Many people gasped, a few let out a small yell. Josie looked as if she were about to faint.

"Wh-what?" she asked weakly. Dumbledore sighed and continued.

"It is my belief that Sirius Black has been working under the orders of Lord Voldemort. I suspect that Sirius was somehow able to coax James and Lily's whereabouts out of their Secret-Keeper, Peter Pettigrew, thereby giving access to their home to the one person we were trying to keep out." Dumbledore seemed to be struggling with this conclusion as if he himself were not able to believe that Sirius was capable of such atrocities.

"Then…where's Peter?" asked Elphias Doge, an old friend of Dumbledore's and loyal member of the Order. Dumbledore again sighed.

"There are eye-witness accounts that Sirius Black murdered Peter Pettigrew sometime after Voldemort's attack on the Potters. He was also accused of the murder of several Muggles nearby." Dumbledore said, he seemed to be struggling to keep his voice above a whisper. Many voices broke out at once in protest to the idea. Josie sobbed in her chair. Kayla wrapped her arms around her, not saying anything, still bothered by Remus's mysterious absence. Dumbledore continued to explain that Harry had somehow managed to deflect Voldemort's Killing Curse, causing it to reverberate back to the spell's caster, killing him.

"Voldemort's dead?" Moody asked. Dumbledore nodded.

"I believe so, yes." Dumbledore answered. This seemed to lighten everyone's mood only slightly, the idea of one of their own turning on them too much for a simple victory to erase.

"How long will Harry be living with his Aunt and Uncle?" asked Marlene McKinnon.

"Until he is old enough to attend Hogwarts. I fear that too many of Lord Voldemort's loyal followers will set out to finish what he could not. He will be safest with the Muggles until he can attend school." There seemed to be no more questions or topics of concern because as soon as Dumbledore said this, everyone nodded and left the office.


	21. Chapter 21

-1Over the years, Kayla and Josie monitored Harry's family. For a while they gave reports to Dumbledore explaining the horrible conditions under which he was living.

"He's sleeping in a cupboard, Dumbledore!" Kayla would announce.

"They hardly feed him!" Josie would add. Dumbledore, however, felt sure that though their treatment of Harry was far less than desirable, they would not allow any harm come to him.

"It is important that we hide him from the magical world until such time that he can enter Hogwarts." He seemed to repeat as if he were a broken record. Eventually, both women stopped arguing as they never received a different response.

Josie had a hard time getting over Sirius's arrest. For a full year she refused to talk or see anyone who believed he was guilty. Once the shock and heartache had disappeared, however, she began to realize that there was no other explanation. Peter was far too quiet and too timid to have done such a thing. She soon began seeing people again, talking to them, though never about Sirius.

Remus never returned to his home. Kayla went by his home every week in hopes of finding him, though he was never there. No one seemed to know where he had gone, not even Dumbledore. His suspicions, however, were that Remus had gone into hiding, fearing that he would be named an accomplice or that Voldemort's followers might target him for recruitment, by his will or their's. Kayla eventually gave up hope of finding him, no new ideas as to where he could be ever coming to mind. Blind determination to find him turned to pure anger. She felt abandoned. Three of her first and dearest friends at Hogwarts were gone, and now Remus abandoned her without a clue as to where he was. Kayla became as set on not speaking of Remus as Josie was about Sirius.

The Order had disbanded as there was no longer an enemy to fight. Although Voldemort still had loyal followers doing his final biddings, Aurors were taking care of them. Over the years, many accused Death Eaters had been arrested, including Sirius's maniacal cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, for the torture of Frank and Alice Longbottom. Their son, Neville, was sent to live with his Grandmother when his parents were admitted into St. Mungo's.

Dumbledore offered both Kayla and Josie teaching positions at Hogwarts. Both had been associated with social outcasts for far too long to be hired anywhere else. The significant others of a werewolf and notorious murderer didn't look well on applications. Both women accepted, Kayla as the Charms professor and Josie as Care of Magical Creatures.

They both anxiously awaited the arrival of their close friends' son. They often wondered what he looked like, if he had his parent's fiery personalities. Finally, the year came when they could welcome young Harry Potter into their classrooms.

The start of term feast had arrived. Kayla and Josie took their seats at the staff table beside each other as they always did. Professor McGonagall sat on Kayla's left, Professor Sprout on Josie's right. Neither spoke, anticipating the first year Sorting, waiting to hear Harry's name called. The night before, they both speculated over which house he would be placed into. Kayla hoped that the years of mistreatment hadn't harden him to Slytherin standards.

The doors to the Great Hall finally opened and the chatter from the staff and returning students quieted as a long line of small and scared looking first years hurried in. Kayla nudged Josie and pointed somewhere in the middle of the line.

"Look. There's Molly and Arthur's son, Ron. He looks just like the rest." she said fondly, always having liked the Weasley family. Josie smiled and looked just to Ron's left at a young boy and had to remind herself of what year it was. There beside the youngest Weasley boy was the spitting image of James Potter.

"Kayla…It's him." she whispered. Kayla looked to where Josie's eyes were fixed and saw him. He looked frightened, yet awed by his surroundings, being raised by Muggles never gave him the chance to experience true magic before. Kayla smiled affectionately, feeling as proud as if she were watching her own child walk to his first Sorting. Professor McGonagall stood and maneuvered her way to the stool on top of which sat the magic hat.

She called the names of each first year in alphabetical order. Kayla and Josie applauded absentmindedly to each Sorting, holding their breath to hear Harry's name.

"Potter, Harry!" McGonagall called. Kayla and Josie straightened in their chairs and watched excitedly as Harry slowly walked up to the Sorting Hat. Both girls could see him mouthing something as he walked up, neither sure of what it was. Their curiosity turned to amusement as the Sorting Hat spoke.

"Not Slytherin? Are you sure? Well, then, it must be…GRYFFINDOR!" Harry, Kayla, and Josie all breathed sighs of relief as the Gryffindor table was in an uproar. The rest of the names were called until the last child had been sorted. They were delighted to see that Ron Weasley had also made it into Gryffindor with his brothers, Fred, George, and Percy. Dumbledore spoke and gave his usual before feast speech. The room was then filled with sighs of awe and relief as food appeared magically before them. The room filled with the noise of conversation and the clatter of silverware on plates.

When the feast was over and everyone had been dismissed, Kayla and Josie walked back to their offices together.

"I wish we could say something to him." Josie said. Kayla nodded.

"I know, but Dumbledore doesn't want us showing favoritism for him simply because his parents were James and Lily." Kayla said, not at all appreciative of Dumbledore's reasoning.


	22. Chapter 22

-1Kayla sat impatiently at her desk for her first class of the day. This was to be a mix of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw first years, and she knew that Harry must be in the group. Just as she was getting far to anxious to sit, the first few bodies timidly entered the room and took seats. Kayla was delighted to see that Harry had befriended Ron and also appeared to be joined by a young girl with the bushiest hair she had ever seen. As the last few students had entered and filled the remaining seats, Kayla stepped forward to address the class.

"Good morning, class. I'm Professor Baxter and this is Charms. I would like for you all to put away your books and quills, we will not be needing them today. Instead, pull out your wands. This class will take a practical look at Charms. How many of you wished that you didn't have to carry your school trunks with you on the Hogwarts Express?" she asked, looking around for hands to be raised, the few who seemed more comfortable with their surroundings raised their hands. Other students nervously looked around and raised theirs as well. Kayla grinned.

"Well, what if I told you, you didn't have to? You will learn the basics of levitating, manipulating, and duplicating objects, all with just a little concentration and the right spell. So, before we can begin, who can tell me at least one charm that can perform any number of these tasks?" Kayla looked around the room and found only one hand raised. It was the bushy haired girl that had entered with Harry and Ron. "Yes, you. You're name, please?"

"Hermione Granger." The girl said, dropping her hand. She had a sort of confidence about her.

"Lovely to meet you, Miss Granger. Now, which spell did you have in mind?" Kayla asked.

"Well, Wingardium Leviosa is a levitating spell. It causes inanimate objects to float in midair." Hermione finished. Kayla grinned.

"Only inanimate objects?" She pressed on. Hermione nodded vigorously.

"Yes, there are other spells used to levitate bodies such as Mobilicorpus." She finished matter-of-factly. Kayla smiled.

"Perfect, Miss Granger. Absolutely correct. 10 points to Gryffindor. Now, does everyone still have their birds? Wonderful. I would like for you to copy me. Watch." Kayla slowly moved her wand through the air and said "Wingardium Leviosa" slowly for the class to hear. Once she had finished, the class repeated her words and movements in unison. "Wonderful. Once you feel you have the words right, I would like for you to try and float the birds. I will be walking the classroom if you need help." And with that the eager students set off to attempt their first charm.

Kayla walked around the room, pausing every few students whenever she heard a groan of frustration or a mispronunciation. She finally arrived at Harry, Ron, and Hermione's table. Hermione appeared to be making the most progress of the three as her bird fluttered a few centimeters off the table before dropping again. Harry had the words right, but was misusing his wand, and Ron was struggling with both.

"Boys, boys. Listen close. _Wingardium Leviosa_. Mr. Weasley, it's said with an 'r', not an 'a'." Ron turned a little pink around the ears, but tried again, causing his bird to move slightly and roll over on its side. "Well, it's an improvement." Kayla said patiently. Harry's bird shot straight off the table, hitting Kayla in the leg.

"Oops…Sorry, Professor." He muttered, bending down to pick it up as it had bounced under the table.

"Quite alright, Mr. Potter. Just keep at it, you'll get it." Kayla smiled at them both and moved on. Ron leaned over to Harry.

"I like her. She's friends with my parents, she's been round for dinner a few times." Harry nodded in agreement, knowing he too would enjoy this class. Once Kayla was certain she had offered as much help as she could, she returned to her seat at the desk. After a little while, a few students had managed to float their birds a foot in the air for more than a few seconds.

"Very good, everyone. Wands away. Your homework for tonight will be to read the chapter on levitating charms. I suggest you pay close attention as their may be a tiny quiz next class." she hinted at them as they packed away their things. She dismissed her students and sat back down at her desk, smiling. The first day of classes were always her favorite.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione headed out for their next class, Care of Magical Creatures. "Who are we sharing this class with?" Ron asked either of the two. Harry shrugged, but Hermione spoke.

"Slytherin, I believe. I hope there aren't any problems." she added. The three walked out onto the lawn where they saw their next professor, Professor Carmichael.

"Morning, everyone. Lovely day, isn't it?" This was how Josie always started her classes. She and Kayla both preferred to be friendly with the students rather than be hated by them. A few students mumbled a reply before Josie continued.

"I've never been one for formal introductions, myself, so here it is. This is Care of Magical Creatures. I am your teacher, Professor Carmichael. You will be learning about the care of magical creatures. Ha! Who would have guessed? Let's jump right in, shall we? Who can tell me what these are?" she asked, gesturing to a pile of what appeared to be spiny mushrooms. Hermione was, again, the first to raise her hand.

"That's a Horklump, Professor." she answered before Josie had the chance to call on her. Josie grinned.

"That's correct. Can you tell me what they are?" Josie pressed on.

"Well, they appear to be mushrooms at first sight, but are actually carnivorous animals. They eat unwanted bugs in gardens and are also the favorite food of gnomes." She stated as if she were reading a text book. Josie continued to grin.

"Correct again, Miss…?" she asked.

"Granger. Hermione Granger." Hermione answered.

"Wonderful. Ten points to Gryffindor for Miss Granger's vast knowledge of Horklumps." There was a scoff somewhere behind Hermione and to Josie's left. "I'm sorry, is there a question?" she asked, trying to find the source of the problem.

"No," answered a boy with slick, bleach blonde hair. "I just hope you don't intend to hand out points to every mudblood who can memorize a text." he continued. Hermione's face when slightly red and seemed to have shrunk into herself. Josie marched through the group of kids and up to the young boy.

"And who might you be?" she asked. The boy straightened proudly as if he were important.

"Draco Malfoy." Josie frowned a bit.

"Ah yes, I should have guessed. I believe that will be 20 points from Slytherin for such foul language in my class. I would also like for you to stop by my office tonight to serve detention with me, is that understood, Mr. Malfoy?" Malfoy scowled at Josie, but nodded. Josie returned to her spot in front of the class, seeing that Hermione had perked a bit at Malfoy's punishment.

Later that afternoon, Kayla joined Josie out on the grounds after their classes had finished to talk about their first days.

"Well?" Josie asked. Kayla shrugged.

"I had Fred and George Weasley in my third class today. As much as I like them, I was close to kicking them out this afternoon." she said with a slight laugh.

"And?" Josie pressed on. Kayla knew what she was getting at. They reached their usual spot, the large tree beside the lake where their old friend Maggie had stuck Sirius in a branch for being annoying. The two sat down and leaned against the trunk.

"Harry has potential. I think being out of the wizarding world for so long hasn't allowed him the experience to excel. His friend Hermione Granger seems to be doing wonderfully, though." Kayla said, remembering that Hermione had been the first to float her bird, even if for only a second. Josie nodded.

"Yeah. She found herself as the target of a little Muggle-born bashing in my class, though." Kayla looked over at her.

"Really? By who?" Josie sighed.

"None other than Draco Malfoy." She said. Kayla hadn't met Draco, but knew his family from her days at Hogwarts.

"Malfoy? I haven't had him in class yet. It'll probably be tomorrow." her voice had become a little constricted as the memory of the plan set by Draco's father involving her then boyfriend, Remus.

"I took points from Slytherin and set him a detention. I have a feeling that wont be the last of his outbursts." Josie said, sounding resigned to the fact.

"Hello, Professors." said a voice from behind. The two women leaned around opposite sides of the tree to see three students walking toward them. One with flaming red hair and freckles, one with a large mane of bushy hair, and the other with a lightning scar on his forehead. Kayla and Josie stood.

"Good afternoon. Where are you three headed?" Josie asked, brushing some dirt off herself.

"Just to the lake." Harry said. Kayla smiled.

"Well, don't let us stop you. This is a wonderful spot. We claimed it when we went to school here with your pa--" Josie's voice trailed off and she looked away from Harry, shooting Kayla a worried look, knowing she had let slip something she shouldn't have.

"My parents?" Harry repeated, now very interested. Josie and Kayla looked at each other and simultaneously, without words, decided that it wasn't worth hiding.

"Yeah. We were good friends with your Mum." Josie said softly. Harry seemed to smile a bit, but it faded. Ron took a slightly different approach.

"You were friends with the Potters? Wow! Did you know Harry when he was a kid?" he asked, sounding all too excited. Josie and Kayla grinned and nodded.

"Yeah, we met him just after he was born." Josie said. Harry seemed to be slightly embarrassed by this. Hermione seemed to notice and nudged Ron.

"Well, we should be off. We still have to read the chapter you set us, Professor Baxter." she waved her good-bye and pulled Ron along beside her, Harry took one last look at his two teachers and followed the others.

"Dumbledore's not going to be too happy about this." Kayla said.

However, Dumbledore didn't mention it at all. Josie and Kayla knew the headmaster too well to assume he didn't know that Harry was aware of their relationship with his parents. Several weeks went by without any problems. Harry never mentioned his parents to either of his teachers, though both noticed an increase in his participation in their classes.

One night Kayla was taking a routine walk around the school, clearing her mind, trying to avoid thoughts of Remus and whether or not he was even still alive. Looking around, she found herself outside a familiar room. She checked the halls to make sure no one was around and pushed open the door.

In the past when she had entered the room, it had been dark and empty, filled with old furniture covered with dust, including a large mirror in the room's center. She had never encountered a soul in the room before, however tonight was different. There in front of the mirror was a young boy, a first year by his height. Kayla walked further into the room.

"Hello?" she said quietly, hoping not to startle him. The boy looked over, surprised. "Oh, Harry! How did you find this place?" she asked. Harry shrugged.

"I just found it, I guess. What is this?" Harry asked. Kayla walked over to the mirror and stood beside Harry.

"It's called the Mirror of Erised. It shows your deepest desires." Harry looked back into the mirror, he looked saddened by this information. Kayla figured she knew why. "You see your parents, don't you?" she asked. Harry nodded slightly. "They were wonderful people, Harry. You look just like your father. And you have your mother's talent. She was a brilliant witch." Harry seemed a bit happier at this news.

"Does everyone see something different?" He asked. Kayla nodded.

"Oh yes. Whatever your heart desires, that's what you see." She looked at her own reflection in the mirror. The same image stared back at her as it had so many nights before. There standing just behind her was Remus, the way she remembered him, smiling at her. Her heart was filled with a moment's bliss before she shook her head and put a hand on Harry's shoulder.

"We should leave, Harry. This mirror has been known to trap people here. The fantasy it shows tends to be more inviting than the reality they live in. I don't suggest you come down here again." Kayla took one last glance at the non-existent Remus and steered Harry from the room.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long. I hope no one thought I'd abandoned the story again! I wasn't happy with my first draft of the chapter, so I chose to rewrite it. And then my dumb butt saved a blank document over the second draft, so I had to start over for a second time! But I'm pretty pleased with how this draft turned out. Hope you enjoy

* * *

Kayla slipped a Knut into the pouch of a screech owl who had just delivered copy of the _Daily Prophet_. Her eyes had barely enough time to scan the front page when she saw a very familiar face looking up at her. Unfolding the rest of the paper, she examined the black and white photograph of Sirius Black. He was standing in the center of the photo, chained and shackled, flanked on both sides by two dementors that were bobbing up and down. After she had had her fill of the photo, Kayla's eyes moved to the headline. Upon reading it, her heart plummeted to her stomach. There had been a breakout of Azkaban, the first in the prison's long history, and Sirius Black was missing.

Just as she was about to send an owl to Josie, she heard a pop coming from her living room. Kayla burst through the kitchen door and found Josie standing beside her fire place. Josie clutched her copy of the _Daily Prophet_ and stared open mouthed at Kayla.

"He's…" she started breathlessly. Kayla looked down at her copy that was still clutched in her hand and could see Sirius's face screwed up in the folds. She nodded slowly.

"It appears that way." Josie sunk down in a near by chair. After a few moment's silence, they began to wonder how he had managed to escape. Both girls agreed that his ability to change from a human to a dog had to have played a part. They also wondered what he planned to do now that he was out. Kayla wondered aloud if he was planning to finish the job Voldemort was unable to 12 years earlier. Josie didn't respond to this. Kayla had always suspected that Josie never fully believed in Sirius's guilt. She could see now that she was right, Josie's eyes were filled with a mixture of hope and fear, there even seemed to be a little happiness.

Seeing Josie's hope that Sirius might return left Kayla with a slight pang in her stomach. She couldn't help but be jealous of Josie. She may finally get to see Sirius again, but Kayla still had no hope of finding Remus.

The morning came when Josie and Kayla had to leave for Hogwarts. They had both received letters from Dumbledore a few days after the news of Sirius's breakout stating that their would be increased security around the castle when they arrived and to pay it no mind. Kayla knew that this must mean that dementors had been placed around the school and was not at all pleased with this news.

When the two women arrived at the school, they passed two dementors hovering just outside the entrance. Even though the dementors were ordered not to attack students or faculty while at the school, orders did nothing to fight off the side effects that always accompanied the presence of a dementor. A feeling of dread and endless unhappiness swept over the teachers as they entered the school. Once inside the walls of the castle, however, the dread abated, but never fully disappeared.

Several days later, on the night when the students were to arrive at Hogwarts, Kayla heard frantic knocking on her office door. Without waiting for an answer, Professor McGonagall burst through the door.

"There's been an attack on the Hogwarts Express. Dumbledore needs us at the platform straight away." And with that she swept from the room. Kayla leapt up from her desk and hurried after McGonagall. They ran into Josie in the entrance hall.

When they arrived on the platform, they were greeted with a very large crowd of students. The noise was deafening as every student in the school was yelling loudly over the hisses and whistles of the steam engine. Kayla looked around and say Hagrid trying his hardest to bellow over the din. Even his booming voice wouldn't carry. The teachers finally spotted Professor Dumbledore talking to the conductor of the train.

"Ah, Minerva. Would you please assist Hagrid in getting the first years across the lake. And then round up the rest and get them on the carriages right away. Kayla, Josie, I would like for you two to fetch Harry Potter from the train. I'm afraid he was effected much worse by the dementor and has passed out in his compartment. I believe he's still there." Kayla and Josie nodded and hurried onto the train. As they hurried through compartment after compartment, they could hear McGonagall's voice carry over the ruckus, ushering all first years toward the lake where Hagrid had the boats ready, and the returning students to their carriages.

The two finally reached the car they were meant to be in and saw a small group of people hovering around a compartment door somewhere near the end. Ron, Hermione, Ron's little sister Ginny, and Neville Longbottom all stepped aside when they heard Kayla and Josie hurrying up the car.

"Excuse us, please." Josie said, nudging her way into the compartment, Kayla following close behind her. Harry sat against the row of seats on the floor of the compartment, looking pale with little beads of sweat forming across his face. Across from him sat a rather unexpected figure, his arm outstretched handing Harry a bit of chocolate.

"It helps after dementor attacks, I promise. Take it." he said. Harry looked at the man as if he had just suggested stink sap worked as a good cologne. He took the chocolate, however, and halfheartedly began nibbling on it.

"Harry, Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office." Josie said. Kayla stood frozen and soundless as she stared at the familiar face of Remus Lupin. He looked up at the two and gave them a half smile, which only Josie returned. Kayla looked away quickly and addressed Harry.

"Come on, Harry, we shouldn't keep the Headmaster waiting." Harry shakily stood up and wobbled a bit on the spot before regaining his balance and left the compartment, followed by Josie and his group of friends. Kayla turned to follow the rest then looked back into the compartment where Remus was standing to move his suitcase off the top rack.

"You should come too, I think." and with that she left. Remus looked slightly surprised, but followed. On their way up to the castle, Kayla couldn't help but remember the first time she had ridden the Hogwarts Express with Remus, James, Sirius, and Peter. She was so certain that he hated her then, and she was certain that she hated him now.

They arrived at the Headmaster's office to find the door slightly ajar. Dumbledore sat inside behind his desk in his high backed chair. He peered over the rim of his half moon spectacles at the group as they entered the office.

"Please, take a seat, Harry." he said serenely. Harry sat in one of the chairs opposite Dumbledore. Kayla and Josie stood on either side of Harry, Remus hovered somewhere around the door. "Would you like to tell me what happened, Harry?" Dumbledore asked politely. Harry nodded and explained how the dementor had caused him to relive the night his parents died and then how he had awoken on the floor of the compartment to see a bright silver light that died away moments later. Dumbledore glanced up between Kayla and Josie to where Remus stood.

"Fortunate for Harry they chose your compartment, Professor Lupin." Dumbledore said. Kayla's eyes widened slightly at the manner in which Dumbledore addressed Remus. This, at least, gave her an answer as to why he was there in the first place.

"I suppose. Although I'm afraid I had dozed off some time before Harry and his friends entered my compartment. If someone hadn't screamed, I'm not sure I would have been of much help." Remus explained. Dumbledore continued to smile serenely.

"Yes, well, regardless the damage would have been much worse had you not been there. I think it would be in Harry's best interest if you would give him extra lessons, Professor. Being that the dementors will be occupying the school for some time, I feel it would be best if Harry was able to defend himself against them." Remus nodded his agreement.

"How does Thursday nights in my office at around 6 sound, Harry?" Remus asked. Harry turned around in his chair and nodded.

"Was that silver light what drove them off?" He asked. Remus nodded.

"Yes, it's called a Patronous. It's very complex magic, Harry. I hope you are up to it." Harry nodded and turned back around in his chair.

"Very well, then. I believe we should be getting back to the feast just in time for me to dismiss everyone." Dumbledore gestured to the door for everyone to take their leave. Remus was the first one out, followed by Kayla, then Josie, then Harry, then Dumbledore.

About half way from Dumbledore's office, Remus began to slow his pace so that Kayla would catch up to him. As she walked up beside him, she did not look at him and stared determinately ahead at the end of the corridor.

"I was expecting to see you here. I didn't know you were teaching." he said in a very falsely casual tone. Kayla didn't look at him.

"No, I suppose you wouldn't have known." Though she was still angry at him for leaving, there was a small part of her that couldn't help but be excited to see him again. Remus had assumed for quite a long time that she would be angry with him, and didn't know what to say that would make things better. Kayla looked sideways at him when he didn't respond.

"Good job on the position. You'll be much better at the subject than the last few we've had." But before Remus could respond, Kayla hurried off up the corridor and disappeared into her office.

A few nights later would mark the start of Harry and Remus's first Defense lesson. Harry knocked on Remus's office door right at six o'clock.

"Come in, Harry. Just setting up." Harry opened the door to the office and closed it behind him. Remus appeared to be locking a trunk in the center of the room. Harry looked around and saw several cages and tanks filled with Dark creatures. Harry recognized one of them from their first proper Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson and wondered if the rest would come later.

"Evening, Harry. Ready for your first lesson?" Remus asked as he stood up and turned around, pulling his wand out of his robes. Harry nodded.

"Yes. Professor, what will you be teaching me?" Harry asked, pulling out his wand as well.

"The Patronous Charm. As I said before, it's very complex magic. It takes a great deal of concentration for you to produce a full Patronous." He explained. "What you need to do is focus all of your energy on a memory. It should be the happiest memory you can think of. Let it fill you up. Once every portion of you is consumed by this memory, you speak the incantation _Expecto Patronum_."

Harry screwed up his face in concentration, but seemed to be taking a very long time to come up with a happy memory. Finally he nodded. "Got one."

"Good, now let it consume you." Remus instructed again. Harry closed his eyes as if to feel every inch of it without distraction. "Ready?" Remus asked, backing up to the trunk he had locked. Harry nodded and Remus waved his wand so the trunk flew open and a dementor floated out. Harry raised his wand, but his face went from being full of confidence, to being full of fear.

"_Expecto…Patronum…_" Harry muttered weakly. A tiny wisp of silver light emitted from the tip of Harry's wand before he collapsed to the ground. Remus took over and forced the dementor back into the box. Kneeling down beside Harry, he pulled yet another bit of chocolate from inside his robes and began shaking Harry to wake him up. Harry awoke and sat up slowly, automatically taking the chocolate Remus offered him.

"What memory did you use?" Remus asked. Harry thought for a moment.

"The first time I flew on a broomstick." Harry said, already feeling this was an inadequate response. Remus helped Harry to his feet.

"I don't doubt you enjoyed that, Harry, but the memory needs to be something a bit more powerful. Something to do with your friends or family, perhaps." Harry already knew family was out of the question as the his Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin had never given him the slightest iota of happiness. Harry settled on his first trip to Diagon Alley. Harry nodded and Remus released the dementor again, but with the same results.

When Harry awoke for the second time, he took the chocolate a bit harsher than he had intended. Remus grinned.

"I told you it wasn't easy, Harry." Remus said as he helped Harry up for a second time.

"What kind of memory do you use, Professor?" Harry asked, hoping to get some idea of what type of memory to use. Remus thought for a moment.

"I like to use memories from when I was in school. My friends, mostly." He said, deciding that going into more detail would be inappropriate.

"I don't know that anything my friends and I have done would make me that happy. There's one memory I have, I think…" Harry trailed off. Remus looked interested.

"You think?" he pushed. Harry nodded and described a memory of his parents that he wasn't sure was a memory at all. Remus agreed that it was worth a try and on Harry's ready, released the dementor one more time. This time, Harry produced enough of a silvery mist to force the dementor back into the trunk. Harry looked at Remus, delighted that he had done it.

"Was that it? Was that full Patronous?" Harry asked excitedly. Remus shook his head.

"No, not a full one. A full Patronous will take the form of an animal. Although that was really good. Excellent for our first lesson, in fact. I see you have your parent's gift." Remus said, locking the trunk as he did so.

"You knew my parents?" Harry asked. Remus looked over at him and nodded.

"Yeah. We were quite close, actually." He wasn't very sure this was the right conversation to be having.

"So does that mean you knew Professor Baxter and Professor Carmichael also? They were friends with my mother." Harry said. Remus paused before responding, not at all wanting to discuss Kayla with Harry.

"Yes, we were all in the same year at Hogwarts. Well, I think that will do it for tonight, Harry. You did very well, better than I had expected. Same time next week, then?" Remus said, trying to change the subject quickly. Harry took this change of subject to mean that the topic of his parents and their friends had closed, gathered his things, and left Remus's office.


	24. Chapter 24

-1Josie was becoming distant yet again, more news of Sirius spottings littering the _Daily Prophet_. There had been no new dementor attacks on any of the students, though most people tended to stay indoors these days, no matter how nice the weather. The next morning at breakfast, Kayla, as she had done every meal up to this point, took to staring at her plate and nowhere else, except for the occasional glance down the table at Remus.

Signs began to appear in the common rooms and staff rooms announcing the first trip to Hogsmeade. Kayla and Josie always attended the trips to Hogsmeade and would certainly be attending the first, Kayla's supply of Honeyduke's candies having run out at the beginning of the summer.

Josie agreed to come along, though Kayla felt that she may not be the best company. However, after a few butterbeers in the Three Broomsticks, Josie's mood seemed to improve greatly. She soon began participating in conversations with other teachers and Madam Rosemerta more willingly and with more enthusiasm. She soon went very quiet again when Madam Rosemerta began to question the rest on their opinions of Sirius's breakout.

"Why would he come to Hogwarts, Minerva? What's here that he would want?" She asked in a whisper. Professor McGonagall took a look around to see if there were any students near by and then dropped her voice dramatically so the three others had to lean in to hear what she had to say.

"Harry Potter, of course!" She whispered. Madam Rosemerta's eyes raised.

"Potter? You don't think he's coming to finish…?" But she was cut off.

"Well of course he is!" Madam Rosemerta sat back in her chair and shook her head.

"Horrible night, that was. And to think, he was the Potter's friend!" she said, seeming to have forgotten that Josie was there, or that she had been Sirius's long time girlfriend at one point.

"He was all of our friends, Rosemerta." Kayla said softly, tipping her third empty butterbeer bottle back and forth with the tip of her finger.

"And young Harry's godfather to boot! Terrible, terrible shame." Rosemerta added grimly. Kayla looked up and saw that a pair of eyes had fallen on them. Harry had overheard their conversation and stood up, abandoning Ron and Hermione at the table, looking confused. Kayla jumped up from the table and followed him out of the pub.

"Harry, wait!" she called after him. He was trudging up the crowded street. She followed him until they were no longer in the main part of the town, nearing the Shrieking Shack. He stopped at a fence and leaned against it. Kayla strode up to him.

"I don't suppose you were going to tell me this, were you?" he asked moodily, not looking at Kayla.

"Harry, I'm your teacher. It would have been wrong of me-" but Harry cut her off.

"Wrong of you to tell me exactly how my parents died? So who was he?" Harry asked, apparently determined to get everything he could out of Kayla. She sighed, seeing no way to get out of telling him.

"He was a friend of your fathers." Was all she could manage to say. Harry looked sideways at her, his mouth a prominent frown.

"And yours?" He asked. Kayla nodded slowly.

"And Professor Carmichael's, and Professor Lupin's." she said softly. A look crossed Harry's face upon hearing this and Kayla knew at once what he was thinking. "Harry, I can't stress enough that you don't go looking for Black." she said firmly.

"Why not? He was close enough to my parents to be my godfather, wasn't he? He betrayed them, handed them over to Voldemort. Why shouldn't I look for him?" Harry asked.

"Harry, I know how you must feel-" but her voice trailed to nothing when Harry looked at her.

"You do, do you? You think you know how I feel?" His voice was shaking with anger.

"Of course! Harry, we never thought he would…that he was capable of…Harry, we think he's escaped Azkaban to come after you. The last thing you need is to hand over the one thing he wants." Kayla finished, determined to stop him from doing anything dangerous. Harry said nothing as the two heard heavy footsteps coming up from behind them. Kayla turned around and saw Ron and Hermione running up to them.

"What's gotten into you, Harry?" Ron asked, trying to catch his breath. Harry took one last look at Kayla and then turned to his friends.

"Nothing. Let's head over to Zonko's, see if they've got anything new. Bye, Professor." He said as he walked away. Ron and Hermione gave Kayla a small wave and followed, inquiring what the two had been talking about. Kayla turned back around and stared up at the Shrieking Shack. She hadn't seen it in years, she rarely came down this far. She heard footsteps behind her and assumed it was Josie, finally growing tired of the conversation in the Three Broomsticks.

"I told Harry about Sirius." she said, hoping for some reassurance that it was the right thing to do.

"Are you sure that was the right thing?" Answered an unexpected male voice. Kayla turned around to see Remus standing a few feet behind her.

"Oh. I thought you were Josie." Kayla said, turning back around and staring at small tuft of long grass at the bottom of a fence post.

"I get that a lot." Kayla couldn't help but crack a smile, but she turned her head so he couldn't see. "Do you really think you should have told him?" He pressed, moving forward and leaning his back against the fence.

"I don't really know. I just couldn't bring myself not to tell him." she said, looking over at him. She hadn't seen him up close like this in many years and noticed how much older and more worn he looked. Remus nodded.

"I suppose I might have done the same. He was asking about James and Lily the other night." He was surprised to find Kayla speaking to him, and wanted to keep the conversation going for as long as he could, despite the depressing subject.

"How was his first lesson, by the way?" Kayla asked, turning to face him fully.

"Excellent, he caught on very quickly. He produced enough of a Patronous to force the dementor back." Kayla gave him an incredulous look.

"You brought a dementor into the school?!" she asked, her eyes wide. A small crease formed between his eyebrows.

"Of course not! It's a boggart. Merlin, Kayla, I'm not that far gone." he said with a small laugh. Kayla grinned and looked away.

"Sorry. So do you think he'll be able to produce a full Patronous soon?" Remus shrugged.

"It's possible, he's very talented. He asked if I knew you and Josie." He said, looking at her profile. Kayla glanced over at him and then back at the same tuft of grass.

"What did you tell him?" Remus shrugged.

"Just that we were all in the same year." Kayla smiled to herself.

"I guess you're better at keeping quiet." Remus had a feeling she had deliberately worded the statement like that.

"Kayla, I wanted to write. I wanted to tell you where I'd gone." He continued to stare at her profile as if willing her to look at him. She refused to return his gaze, however, and stared back up at the Shack.

"You didn't, though. Three of our closest friends had just died and one was carted off to Azkaban…and then you left without a word. I couldn't talk to Josie because she refused to see anyone who believed Sirius was guilty…" she trailed off, not willing to mention the many nights she had wanted him with her or how long she had tried to find him. She didn't want to allow herself to feel sad again. Her sadness had been replaced by anger so long ago, and anger felt so much better.

"I had to leave, Kayla. Too many of Voldemort's followers knew about me, knew I was close with James and Sirius. It would have been too dangerous for me to stay." Kayla looked over at him, her eyes burning with tears she refused to shed.

"You couldn't have risked one owl in all of twelve years?" Remus didn't respond, and Kayla shook her head, looking away from him again. "I suppose you had your reasons. I just wish you had let someone else know, too." She stood up off the fence and began to walk away, head down.

The next night marked Harry's second lesson with Remus. He arrived at the office and knocked, opening the door. "Evening, Professor." he said, shutting the door behind him. Remus was standing over a tank that housed a Grindylow.

"Evening, Harry. Ready to try again?" He asked, stepping away from the tank and over to where the same trunk stood in the middle of the room. Harry nodded, but hesitated before speaking.

"Professor Lupin, I wanted to ask you about…my dad." Harry asked. Remus paused for a moment, but couldn't see the harm in answering a few questions about James.

"What did you want to know?" he asked, standing in front of the trunk, a few feet from Harry.

"Were…" Harry paused as if trying to decide how to form the question. "Were Sirius Black and my dad close?" he asked hastily as if the question was a particularly difficult one to ask.

Remus thought for a moment. "Yes. Yes they were very good friends. Inseparable, actually." he hadn't wanted to begin on this topic. Harry didn't ask anymore questions. In fact, he wasn't sure why he had asked the question at all. Perhaps he wanted more of a reason to hate Black for what he had done. Remus took the opportunity to cut the conversation there.

"I believe Professor Baxter told you everything about Sirius that you ought to know. Let's not open up anymore old wounds." he said, hoping that would put a stopper on any other questions Harry might want to ask. Harry seemed to take the hint and pulled out his wand.

Harry focused on the same memory he used last time and Remus released the boggart dementor from the trunk. Harry raised his wand and spoke the incantation and for a fraction of a second, the head and front legs of a great silver stag erupted from his wand's tip. It floated toward the dementor, chasing it back into the trunk before evaporating into silver mist. Remus locked the trunk and sat on top of it. Harry looked delighted.

"Very good, Harry." Remus said softly. Harry beamed.

"What - what was it? I mean, why was it a stag?" He asked. Remus thought about this question very carefully. He knew the truth would lead to far more questions than he cared to answer.

"Everyone's Patronous takes the shape of an animal. It could mean a number of different things." Though Remus knew that he himself would not be satisfied with this answer was relieved to find that Harry was too overjoyed to notice the lack of true information. They continued their lesson for another hour. Harry didn't manage to reproduce the half a stag again, although the silver mist was becoming more dense and solid. Harry was slightly disheartened by this, though Remus assured him it wasn't anything to worry about. He dismissed Harry, thankful that he had not tried to ask anymore questions.


	25. Chapter 25

-1Josie was heading back from Kayla's office after having a quick drink after dinner to celebrate Halloween, as was their tradition. She was half way down the stone staircase to the sixth floor when she heard a loud, blood curdling scream from somewhere above her. Pulling out her wand, Josie turned and bolted up the stairs and in the direction of the victims continued screams. She followed the sounds all the way up to Gryffindor Tower. The Fat Lady's portrait had been torn to pieces.

"What the bloody hell happened?" Josie asked, looking at the tears in the canvas. They looked oddly like claw marks. A group was beginning to form behind her. Teachers and students were all returning from dinner when they heard the screams.

"It's him! He's in the school!" Cried the Fat Lady.

"Who is?" Josie pressed. The Fat Lady's usually rosy face turned white and her eyes widened.

"Sirius Black!" she said. Josie froze.

"Get out of the way, children! Move!" Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore appeared behind her.

"Minerva, call the Heads of House and get all of the students into the Great Hall straight away. Have Madam Pince check the library for any students in there." Argus Filch appeared behind the three Professors. "Oh good, Argus, remove the Fat Lady's portrait and replace it with Violet's. Don't worry, we'll have you back to normal in no time. Josie, I want you and Kayla to help with the students." Josie regained her composure and nodded, hurrying off with Professor McGonagall.

After all of the students had been corralled in the Great Hall, they were informed that they would be sleeping there until they were sure the school was clear. Teachers moved in and out of the Hall all night, passing on information and discussing further actions.

Josie was standing against the wall beside the entrance to the Hall when Kayla entered. "Alright, Josie?" she asked, putting a hand on Josie's shoulder. Josie nodded.

"Yeah I guess. I reckon this means he really is here for Harry." She whispered, not wanting to clue the students in on their conversation.

"I don't know. The Fat Lady could have been mistaken at any rate." Kayla offered, trying to raise Josie's spirits. Josie gave Kayla a very weak smile.

"I think I should go and patrol the halls for a bit." Josie said, pushing herself off the wall and leaving the Great Hall. Before the door shut, Remus walked in.

"Have you seen anything?" He asked. Kayla shook her head.

"Nothing. He must still be in the castle, though. Josie said she was the first one up there after the Fat Lady was attacked. He couldn't have gone far." Remus nodded.

"Dumbledore's questioning the Fat Lady. She said that he attacked her when she refused to allow him into the common room." Kayla sighed and rubbed the signs of sleep from her eyes. "You should get some rest." He suggested. Kayla shook her head.

"I'm not that tired. I was just thinking." she said.

"What about?" Remus asked. Kayla was surprised to find herself answering his question without a second thought.

"How our group fell apart like this. Everything's changed so much. The last time this many of us were in Hogwarts, we were all stressing over exams, laughing at James playing with that stupid snitch, telling Sirius and Josie to go somewhere more private." Kayla's voice became very quiet so that Remus even had trouble hearing her.

"Life was much easier then, wasn't it?" Remus asked. Kayla was sure he wasn't only talking about their friends.

Dawn was approaching when Dumbledore informed the staff that there was no sign of Sirius in the castle. Kayla had sat down against the wall and had fallen asleep a few hours before. Remus had taken over her position and watched the students so she could sleep. Streams of sunlight filled the room and students began to stir. Once everyone had awoken, they were all sent back to their dorms.

The school was buzzing with rumors and talk of the attack. As mostly only Gryffindors had witnessed the Fat Lady after the attack, members of other houses began telling their own version of what had happened. By the end of the week, no less than six versions of the story were being passed around.

These stories were absent from Kayla's classes one afternoon, however, later that week.

"Snape's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts?" she overheard Ron asking Hermione in her first class of the day. She heard him groan. "That means we have him for two classes today!" He moaned.

"I wonder what happened to Professor Lupin." Harry speculated. The rest of the class poured in before he was able to ask Kayla that question.

Later on that afternoon, Kayla passed Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown talking in the hallway.

"Why would he have started us on werewolves? We weren't supposed to start on them for weeks!" Parvati asked Lavender. Lavender shrugged.

"I suppose it's an important lesson to have, though. I mean, aren't there werewolves in the Forbidden Forest?" That was all Kayla caught of the conversation. Changing her direction, Kayla headed toward the dungeons to have a word with Snape.

She knocked on his wooden office door.

"Come in." came his slow drawl of an answer. Kayla entered and shut the door behind her. "Afternoon, Baxter." He said after glancing up from a stack of papers.

"Afternoon, Severus. I was wondering if I could have a word with you about your Defense lessons for today." she said, taking a seat across from him.

"Yes, I imagine you would." he said, not looking at her.

"Are you determined to have him kicked out of the school? Do you know what would happen if students found out?" she asked, thoroughly annoyed that he wasn't looking at her.

"I wasn't aware that you would care so much, Professor. You've hardly spoken a word to him since he's been here." Kayla took a deep breath, trying to remain calm.

"What I do or don't care about is none of your business, Snape." she stood up and walked over to the door. She turned for one last word. "Perhaps next time you should use your own history for your next lesson, _Snivellus_." and with that she left the office. Snape's grip tightened on the piece of parchment he was reading over at the sound of his school nickname.

Remus returned to his class the next week to find very relieved students.

"Professor, why were you out?" Parvati asked. Remus was prepared for this question and had an answer ready.

"I was out for my help, Miss Patil. I'm afraid I wasn't feeling very well last week." he answered, pulling his wand and a few notes out of his briefcase.

"Was Professor Snape the only substitute?" Dean Thomas asked. Remus had his back turned to the class and was able to grin at the question without raising more.

"Why? Was he no good?" Remus asked, trying to sound curious and not entertained.

"Are you kidding? He was bloody awful!" Ron announced. Remus turned around, eyebrows raised.

"Oh? How so?" he asked.

"He didn't stick with your curriculum, Professor." Lavender stated. "He had us go over werewolves." she added as if this were a great insult. Remus tried to hide what he was really thinking when he responded.

"Ah, I see. That does set us back a bit, but we should be fine." He ignored a rather knowing look from Hermione and continued with that afternoon's lessons.

That evening, Remus received a knock on his office door. He was interested to find Kayla in his doorway after the door clicked shut.

"Evening, Kayla. Would you like to sit?" he offered as she was standing kind of stiffly by the door.

"I've spoken with Severus." she said, taking up his offer and sitting across from him.

"You have?" he asked, slightly surprised. Kayla nodded.

"I overheard Harry talking with his friends about it in my class yesterday. I couldn't believe he'd put your job at stake." Kayla said.

"I wouldn't worry, I don't think anyone caught on." Remus said, leaning forward on his elbows.

"Maybe not this time, but there are some very clever students here. If you go missing once a month, someone's bound to put two and two together." She said, lowering her voice for no particular reason. A crease formed between her eyebrows as a small grin formed on Remus's face. "What?" she asked. Remus shook his head.

"Nothing, nothing at all. You just seem more concerned about me losing my job than I am." Kayla opened her mouth slightly to retort, but couldn't think of anything to say.

"I'm not heartless, Remus. I don't want you to lose your job, but that doesn't mean anything else." she said, not sure if he was buying it. Remus sat back in his chair and folded his arms.

"If you say so. I'm not worried about it, Kayla." he said calmly. Kayla nodded.

"Alright. I guess I wont worry if you aren't, but that doesn't make what Snape did any better." Remus grinned.

"What exactly did you say to him?" he asked. Kayla smiled.

"I told him not to risk other people's jobs, to mind his own business…and to stick to his own history the next time." Remus laughed. Kayla couldn't help but join him, but put her hands through her hair, resting her palms on her forehead. "I can't believe I said that to him."

"Why?" Remus asked. Kayla shrugged, dropping her hands in her lap.

"We're not in school anymore, that's why. We're both teachers and I'm supposed to be setting an example for students. I wouldn't expect a student to speak to me that way, and I shouldn't have spoken to him that way." she said, still grinning, though.

"What he did wasn't exactly model behavior either, Kayla. I, for one, appreciate what you said. Maybe I should change my next lessons to ex-Death Eaters and how to spot them." he suggested with an evil look. Kayla laughed a little.

"Oh yes, I think that would be a very compelling lecture indeed." The two sat smiling at each other in silence for a moment. For a brief happy moment, Kayla forgot all about how angry she was at him. They were behaving just as they had done in school. The only difference was there was a desk between them. She forced that thought from her mind, and cleared her throat.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know I had spoken to him. Good night." she said, getting up. Remus's smile disappeared as she left his office. He wondered if she would ever spend more than just a few moments with him ever again.


	26. Chapter 26

-1The halls were a sea of red, gold, yellow, and black as every student prepared for that afternoon's Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. It was the first match of the season, so spirits were very high. Members of both teams were being cheered and jeered in the halls by their classmates, but no one paid them any mind.

Josie and Kayla took their usual seats in the teacher's box to watch the match. They often wished they could be students again, sitting in the stands, able to shout their support for their favorite team. As teachers, however, they weren't aloud to show any open bias and took to small gestures to each other when Gryffindor scored or was scored upon.

They had settled in and were greeting the other teachers around them when Kayla noticed that the seat on her left was no longer empty. She turned from her conversation with Professor Sprout to see Remus sitting next to her. For a moment she was reminded of their school years together at Quidditch matches. Only instead of watching James as Chaser, they were watching Harry as Seeker, and Sirius, who was the loudest and most raucous of all when it came to Quidditch, was nowhere to be found.

"I've been told Harry has a knack for Quidditch." Remus said conversationally.

"He does, might be the best Seeker Gryffindor has ever seen." Kayla answered, trying to sound indifferent to his presence.

Madam Hooch walked out onto the pitch after all the names of each member of both teams had been called. The teams kicked off into the air, Harry and Cedric Diggory flying a little farther off than the rest. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, releasing the quaffle, bludgers, and the snitch into the air. Immediately the match sprang into action, every move being commentated by Lee Jordan in the announcer's box.

"How are Harry's lessons going, Remus?" Josie called over the din and around Kayla, who was determined to look more interested in the game.

"Very well, actually. He's picking up very quickly." He answered.

"Does it have a form yet?" Josie yelled back, Gryffindor having scored their team's first point.

"Yes. Well, half of one, anyways." He then realized that he hadn't shared with either of them what Harry's Patronous was. "He produced the front half of a stag in our last lesson." he added. Kayla turned to him.

"A stag?" she couldn't help but feel a little saddened by this, and a little aggravated that they couldn't tell him the truth behind it.

"Incredible. I guess he inherited a lot from his father." Josie said.

The conversation died as the three began to focus their attention on the match, Hufflepuff had taken the lead by one goal. The weather began to take a turn for the worse. The pitch grew darker as heavy gray clouds rolled in. There were cracks of thunder and flashes of lightning that momentarily lit up the field.

Suddenly, both Harry and Cedric shot straight up into the air both chasing after some invisible object. In a flash of light, Kayla saw the tiny golden snitch zooming high above the crowds. The two Seekers were swallowed by the clouds, causing everyone in the stands to hold their breath. A collective yell of fear rang out through the stadium as everyone saw a tiny black speck falling from the sky. As soon as Harry had cleared the clouds, they all saw the cause of his decent. A hooded black figure was swooping down after him as Harry hurdled toward the ground.

Just as Harry was only 20 feet from the ground, everyone saw his body begin to slow, the dementor, however, seemed to be gaining speed. Kayla jumped up, her wand drawn, and shouted just as Harry floated safely to the ground and the dementor was closing in.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM!!_" she yelled and a bright silver, four legged creature erupted from the tip of her wand and charged the dementor. The hooded creature flew off into the distance at the sight of Kayla's Patronous. Her charmed animal took one lap around Harry's body, just long enough to be sure there were no more dementors, and for a few people to realize what the animal was. Remus turned to say something, but Kayla was already shoving her way past teachers who were all beginning to rush onto the field.

She reached Harry's limp body, attempting to shove her way through the mass of students who had reached the pitch before her. Madam Hooch had managed to break the ranks first and was shouting at everyone to move back.

"I'll take him to see Madam Pomfrey straight away." Kayla said, kneeling down to check Harry's pulse. Though he was unconscious, his heart was racing.

"Yes, you both better take him, just in case there's another attack." Madam Hooch agreed. Kayla was slightly confused by this, but then realized that Remus had joined them on the pitch. He raised his wand and Harry raised a few feet into the air. The two hurried off back toward the school as Professor McGonagall's voice could be heard over the noise calling for order.

Josie had stopped halfway down the stairs to the pitch. Though she couldn't seem to bring herself to move, her heart was beating frantically. Had she really seen it? Off in the distance, at the far end of the pitch near the Forest, Josie had seen something small and black running back into mess of trees. Had that been Sirius? She was certain it was a black, four legged creature of some sort, though it was too far off to make out any certain details. The shoves of teacher's running past her broke Josie from her trance and she began to hurry down the steps and toward the castle, taking one last look at the Forest.

Kayla threw the doors to the Hospital Wing open and hurried inside, Harry floating a foot behind her. Remus settled him down on a bed as Madam Pomfrey came hurrying from her office.

"Another Quidditch injury?" She asked, checking Harry's arms and legs for broken bones.

"No, it was a dementor attack." Remus said. Madam Pomfrey stood up straight and turned to the two teachers.

"Thank you for bringing him here. I don't think there's much I can do now except wait for him to come to." Kayla and Remus nodded their understanding and at Madam Pomfrey's stern look, turned to leave the Hospital. Kayla leaned up against the heavy door of the Wing and ran a hand through her hair.

"This is ridiculous. We can't have dementors attacking our students every way we turn. They can't be kept at the castle!" she said. Remus got the impression she wasn't speaking to anyone in particular. After a few minutes of silence, he decided it was safe to ask what he had been wondering since seeing her Patronous.

"Kayla, your Patronous. Was it a-" his words were cut off when Kayla looked up at him. She knew what he was about to ask and silently nodded, looking back down at her feet. "Since when?" he asked. Kayla shrugged.

"A few years after you left, I suppose. Around the time I realized you weren't coming back." There was a moment of silence, but before Remus could respond, they heard hurried footsteps coming up the corridor. Josie wheeled around a corner and ran up to them.

"I think…I've just seen…In the Forest…" Josie attempted. She was so out of breath that the words were hardly forming.

"Calm down, Josie. You saw what?" Kayla asked. Josie took a few settling breaths and tried again.

"I think I saw Sirius running back into the Forest after the match." she said. Kayla couldn't help but look sadly at her friend.

"Josie, that's impossible. Are you sure it was him? It could have been Hagrid's dog, you know. Or something else. There was so much going on." Josie thought about this and began to feel rather stupid for jumping to conclusions like that. It really could have been Fang she saw bounding back toward Hagrid's hut.

"It could have been him. We never found him after he attacked the Fat Lady." Kayla noticed a hint of hopefulness in Josie's voice. Remus seemed to pick up on it, too.

"Josie, even if it was him. What do you think he was doing there? Enjoying the match? What are the odds that the man responsible for the death of Harry's parents would show up at the same time as Harry is attacked by a dementor." Josie didn't respond to him. Kayla put a hand on her arm. Josie seemed unconvinced.

"Would you like me to go down to the Forest with you? Just to ease your mind a bit? I don't think we'll see anything, but if it will make you feel better." Kayla offered. Josie shook her head.

"No. You're right. I think I over reacted. I'm sure it was just Fang." And with an unconvincing smile, she turned and left just as Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and the Weasley twins hurried toward them.

"Is he alright?" Hermione asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"He's fine. Madam Pomfrey's waiting for him to wake up. You can see if she will let you stay." Kayla offered. Hermione and the rest didn't need telling twice and hurried into the Hospital Wing, leaving Remus and Kayla alone again.

"Can you meet me tonight? In my office." Remus asked timidly. Kayla looked up at him. "I have another lesson with Harry, but you can come before." Kayla considered it for a moment, but didn't see the harm and nodded.

"I'll be there around five." she said, her voice as steady as she could make it, and turned to leave.

"Did he say what he wanted to talk about?" Josie asked later on in Kayla's office. She seemed to have forced Sirius from her mind for a few moments. Kayla shook her head. "Maybe he wants to explain where he went."

"What's there to explain, Jos? He left. That's all there is to it. Nothing he can say can change the way I feel now." she said. Josie didn't seem convinced.

"You honestly mean to tell me that you have no feelings for him anymore other than hate?" Kayla nodded, but didn't mean Josie's gaze. "Oh come on, Kayla! I don't care what he did, when you saw him on the Hogwarts Express that night, I know you were excited!" Josie sounded almost accusatory. Kayla sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"Alright, maybe I was a little glad to see him. That doesn't change what he did, though." she said, determined to not allow herself to feel anything but anger towards him.

"He didn't do anything, Kayla. He left to protect you. That's what he said, isn't it? That's much better than killing your two best friends, right?" Kayla looked up at her at this last part and felt guilty for being angry at Remus for something that now seemed so small. Josie had lost Sirius to murder. She had lost Remus to protection.

"I'm sorry, Josie. I know losing Sirius was hard. I wish, for your sake, that he was innocent, really."

"We're not talking about me, Kayla. Consider what he did. Was leaving really that horrible?" Josie asked. Kayla was starting to feel annoyed.

"He didn't just leave, Josie. He went 12 years without a single letter! For all I knew, he could have been dead." Kayla said.

"He was trying to protect you!" Josie argued.

"He abandoned me!" Kayla shouted. She hadn't told Josie how she felt before. It seemed to take her by surprise. Josie stood up from her chair and headed for the door. There didn't seem to be anything she could say.

"When you go to see him tonight, listen to what he has to say." Josie said, apparently angry that Kayla had shouted at her. Kayla felt ashamed at her reaction, and worse that she knew that compared to Josie, her own situation wasn't nearly as bad.


	27. Chapter 27

Breakfast the next morning was a quiet one. Josie didn't say much to Kayla, apparently still upset about Kayla's outburst. The sound of dozens of post owls broke the usual clatter of silverware on platters. Most were carrying letters and small parcels, but one, a beautiful snowy white owl, carried a rather long package in it's talons and dropped it in Harry Potter's lap. Kayla watched in mild interest, wondering who would have sent him such a large package.

"A Firebolt?!" Ron Weasley exclaimed when Harry ripped back the brown paper. A group of students all surrounded Harry to catch a glimpse of the latest in broomsticks. Kayla's curiosity peaked at the sight of such an expensive gift. She glanced down the table at Remus, who seemed equally as interested in the arrival. Before either could act on their curiosity, Professor McGonagall had risen from her seat and was headed down to the Gryffindor table.

"Is there a name on it, Harry?" Seamus Finnigan asked excitedly.

"No. There's nothing on the wrapping or attached to the broom. Harry, maybe you should turn this in to Professor Dumbledore." Hermione stated after setting the brown wrapping she had been examining aside. Harry opened his mouth to retort, but was stifled before he could utter a single word.

"I think that's an excellent idea, Ms. Granger." came Professor McGonagall's voice from behind the mass of students. Harry turned around and felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. He had never been given such a wonderful gift and it was about to be taken away for nothing. "The broom, Potter." McGonagall said, holding out her hand for him to place the broom in. He reluctantly did so and she walked off with it out of the Great Hall.

"Perfect." Harry said, folding his arms on the table. Kayla couldn't help feeling slightly sorry for Harry. A gift like a Firebolt would have been amazing for any student, however she couldn't help but agree with McGonagall and Hermione that it was best to find out who it was from or if there was anything wrong with it first.

Later that evening, Kayla was sitting in her office trying to convince herself to go and visit Remus as he'd asked. What did he want to talk about? What was it going to lead to? Fifteen minutes until she was supposed to meet him, she finally convinced herself that it was the right thing to do and headed out early, afraid that she might change her mind if she didn't. On her way she ran into Josie, who barely looked at her.

"Josie, can we talk for a minute?" Kayla asked, stopping her. "I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to yell at you." Josie gave her a weak half smile and nodded.

"It's alright. Are you going to see Remus?" she asked. Kayla nodded.

"I'm probably out of my mind to go, but I'm too curious to stay." Josie gave a slightly more convincing smile.

"Oh there's definitely something there." And with a small glare from Kayla, Josie turned and continued down the hall in the opposite direction. Kayla reached Remus's office and went to knock, but the door opened before she could.

"Oh! Severus, you startled me." Kayla said, having jumped just slightly. Snape gave her an uninterested look and walked off. Kayla stuck her head in the open door. "Remus?" she called.

"Come in, Kayla." she walked in the rest of the way and spotted Remus beside the fire swallowing something out of a goblet, screwing his face up in disgust.

"What are you drinking? Did Snape give you that?" she asked. Remus finished the last of it and nodded, setting the goblet down on the mantle.

"Yes, Severus has been kind enough to supply me with Wolfsbane." Kayla raised an eyebrow at him.

"Dumbledore forced him, more like." She said, never having known Snape for his acts of kindness.

"Either way, he's doing me a favor. You're here early." He commented, sitting down in one of the chairs beside the fire. Kayla stood awkwardly aside, almost afraid to get too comfortable.

"I had to convince myself to come here, to be honest. I was afraid I'd change my mind." Remus looked as though he expected this. He didn't say anything, and Kayla felt the need to break the silence. "I'm glad he's helping you. I thought you looked a bit better last month." She said, without really looking at him. Remus smiled slightly.

"Yes, it's been a huge advantage having a potions master around for once." Kayla couldn't help but smile, remembering the many disasters they faced in Potions class. There was another pause and Kayla felt the need to end the small talk as soon as possible.

"What did you ask me to come down here for, Remus?" she asked, now looking him straight in the eye. Remus looked as though he would have rather avoided the topic as long as possible.

"I think we need to talk about what happened." He said simply. Kayla folded her arms across her chest.

"What is there to talk about? You've already explained yourself." She said. Remus stood up and walked aimlessly to the other side of the room.

"No. I haven't. There's more to what happened than just me leaving." Remus stared at Kayla's unreadable face, her green eyes sparkling in the light of the fire.

"So start explaining, then." She said with little emotion. Though she would never let Remus see it, she was genuinely interested in his explanation.

"I didn't want to leave. It wasn't my choice. If it were, I would have either stayed or I would have taken you with me." Kayla hadn't expected those last few words. _He wanted me with him? _ She thought to herself, not saying anything so he could continue uninterrupted. "An hour after you had finally fallen asleep, I received a letter from Dumbledore. There was evidence that Lucius and Narcissa were Death Eaters. They know what I am. They made that obvious when we were in school. He didn't think it was safe for me to stay here with the people who were closest to James and Lily and who could potentially know where Harry was."

Kayla took in everything he was saying, her expression never changing. Nothing he said was of much comfort, all except for knowing that he hadn't forgetten about her. Remus paused in his story and leaned against his desk, staring at the fire. When he spoke again, his voice was deeper and firmer as if attempting to force Kayla to understand.

"They had tried to get to the rest of you through me once before and there was no guarantee that they wouldn't do it again. Dumbledore felt that they would have learned from their mistakes the first time, they would have allowed me to stay in everyone's good graces to get information to bring back to them. As much as I wanted to argue with him or tell him that it wasn't a possibility, I knew better. I didn't leave immediately. I fought with myself over whether I should wake you and tell you what had been decided, but Dumbledore didn't want anyone, not even him, to know where I'd gone." Kayla felt the burning sensation in her eyes again as she listened to him. He stopped speaking and Kayla wondered if that was all he had to say. After a few moments of silence where Remus seemed to refuse to make eye contact with her, Kayla spoke.

"Did he tell you to stay away for so long? Was that his decision too?" Her voice seemed to falter a bit in her attempt to keep all emotion from it. Remus shook his head.

"No. Dumbledore and I were in contact several years ago and told me that he felt it was safe for me to return. I thought about it, but it had been so long. I didn't know what I would say to you. I was afraid you wouldn't understand or wouldn't forgive me. When he heard about Sirius's escape, that's when he decided that it was best to have me at the school. He felt the more people here who knew him and knew what he was capable of, the better." Remus looked up at her after a long while to see the same stony expression on Kayla's face. She gave a small laugh and shook her head, looking away.

"It's kind of funny. I knew Dumbledore had something to do with it. Eventually he had insisted so many times that he had no idea why you'd left or why you hadn't attempted to contact anyone that I assumed you must have been dead. That was somehow more of a comfort than thinking that you were alive and refusing to speak to me, to let me know you were okay. I was in denial for so long. Molly and Arthur Weasley were a great help to me. They convinced me, after a few years, to sell your home and helped me get rid of your things. Everyone was certain you weren't coming back." Kayla was surprised to find these thoughts flowing freely from her lips. She was even more surprised that they were accompanied by tears that had been aching to be shed for years and years.

"You were happier thinking I was dead?" Remus sounded slightly hurt by this. Kayla shrugged, wiping a few tears from her eyes.

"It was better than thinking you'd forgotten about me." She said softly. Remus felt immensely guilty when she said this. He didn't know what to say to convince her that he had never once forgotten her. Neither said anything for a while. Kayla's mind drifted back to an afternoon 12 years ago.

A large group of people surrounded two caskets in a cemetery in Godric's Hollow. Many were weeping, comforting each other as James and Lily were lowered into the ground. Kayla had given a small speech in their honor, however two people were absent from the eulogy. Sirius was widely known to be the cause of their death, and Kayla couldn't bring herself to speak of Remus. As she stood among the crowd of people, she looked around to see many people comforting each other. Wives crying into husbands' shoulders, children clinging to their mothers. Kayla stood alone, her own embrace the only source of comfort, though her body felt cold and lifeless as the graves were covered by dirt and there tombstones were revealed. Josie hadn't attended the funeral, still bitter at the accusations against Sirius. That had been the first night she realized they were all gone. That night she cried more than she had ever cried in her life.

She became aware of Remus's eyes on her as the tears flowed freely and silently from her eyes. She met his gaze and a wave of emotion flowed over here that she had not expected. Every emotion she had bottled up since the night James and Lily were murdered erupted from her with a magnified force and Kayla felt herself slump to the ground as she had done on that fateful night. And just as he had done on that night, Remus rushed to her side just before she hit the ground, wrapping his arms tightly around her to catch her and slowly lower Kayla to her knees. He remained knelt down beside her, her tears soaking the front of his robes. Kayla couldn't believe the comfort she found in being in his arms again. She had been so filled with anger for so long that Kayla thought that she might never be able to feel happy in his embrace again. Her happiness was stifled, however, as there was a knock at the door.

Remus looked up and Kayla pulled away from his grip. She walked over to his desk, her back to the door, and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes. Remus answered the door.

"Hello again, Professor. I have a situation that requires your…expertise." Kayla recognized the deep tones of Severus Snape from the hall. She turned toward the door, satisfied that any signs of tears had been wiped away and saw Snape standing in the door way, Harry at his side.

"Of course, Professor Snape. Come in." Remus stepped aside and aloud the two to enter. Kayla nodded her head at Harry who's eyes lingered on her momentarily, as if scrutinizing her appearance, then returned her greeting half heartedly and continued to glare at Snape.

"I have confiscated something from young Potter, here. I am convinced it may have dark qualities." There was something knowing in his tone that had nothing to do with his suspicions. Kayla saw him hand over a piece of parchment, which Remus took and examined the words on it. Kayla stepped up beside him and read the words over his shoulder. She barely made it through the first line of text before having to turn her head and hide a very prominent laugh behind a cough.

"Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business." Remus managed to keep a straight face as he read the words aloud, Harry's glare turned to a statisfied smile, and Kayla seemed to be thrown into a coughing fit she couldn't stop. Snape seemed to find this the least bit amuzing. "Honestly, Severus, it appears to be a piece of parchment that insults anyone who tries to read it. There doesn't seem to be anything dark about it, but I'll hold on to it and give it a more thorough examination." He said with a smile. Kayla managed to control her coughing and turned around to adress Snape and Harry.

"Now, as for Mr. Potter, I think Professor Lupin and I should have a talk with him about being out of bounds. Thank you Professor Snape, but we can take it from here." She placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and led him to her side. Snape gave both Remus and Kayla contemptuos looks, but turned and left the office. Kayla and Remus met each other's eyes before ushering Harry to sit down.

"Where did you get this, Harry?" Remus asked. Harry looked confused.

"F-Filch's office. There's nothing dark about it, Professor. Like you said, it's just a prank." Harry said defensively. Remus held up his hand to silence him.

"I know what this is, Harry. We both do. What are you doing with it?" Remus asked, looking down at the parchment as the words disappeared.

"You know what it is?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry, we do. What are you doing with it?" Kayla asked. Harry didn't answer.

"Harry, this thing is no good. Wandering around after hours when there's a man on the lose who might be out for you. What were you thinking?" Remus asked.

"Alright, I wont use the map anymore. I wont go out after hours." Harry said. Remus nodded.

"That's very true, you wont be using the map anymore. Because, like I told Professor Snape, I will be holding on to this." Remus walked over to his desk and set it down on top. "You may go back to your dorm. But, Harry, if you don't go back to Gryffindor Tower..." He motioned to the map. "I'll know." Harry got up with a look of quiet indignance and left the office.

"How did he get that? I thought Filch took it from you guys in our sixth year." Kayla said. Remus shook his head.

"I don't know. I wonder what he was looking at." Kayla shrugged. There was silence and Kayla made no move to leave. Remus took this as a good sign.

"Do you forgive me?" He asked suddenly and out of context. Kayla looked up at him and cracked a small smile.

"Do I have to?" she asked. Remus grinned and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her again. Kayla wrapped hers around him tightly and held him there for a few minutes. She would have done anything to be able to take his lips in hers and kiss him deeper than she had ever done before, but held back. Though she now understood why he left, she still couldn't forget what it felt like to wake up and find him gone. She could forgive him, but she couldn't allow herself to love him again. She broke their embrace and smiled, backing away toward the door. Remus was slightly disappointed, but felt that simply being forgiven was better than nothing. With a small wave, Kayla left the office and headed back to hers.


	28. Chapter 28

-1Harry received his Firebolt back from Professor McGonagall a few days later. She and Professor Dumbledore were both satisfied that there was nothing suspicious about the odd gift. He took it out that afternoon for Quidditch practice and blew everyone away with it's speed and agility. There was never any confirmation as to who sent it, though a few of the teachers still had their suspicions.

Kayla had thought a lot about Remus since their conversation a few nights previous. To her surprise and great pleasure, she found herself thinking more about their years at Hogwarts than what Remus had said or the years she spent without him.

"Hey, Moony, wait up!" came Kayla's giggling voice from a little way behind the group. She had lingered at a shop window in Hogsmeade that was displaying enchanted wooden birds in cages, their song could be heard through the glass. Kayla ran up beside Remus and latched on to his arm. Sirius and James were arguing over Quidditch teams while Lily and Josie mimicked them a few paces behind.

"You want to buy me a bird." Kayla said, smiling up at Remus. He looked down at her with a playful look of contemplation.

"Do I? Why would I want to do that?" He asked, attempting to look as serious as possible. Kayla considered this for a moment and shrugged.

"Because you love me. What other reason do you need?" She asked with a grin. Remus laughed.

"Love you?! Ha!" He straightened his face at Kayla's half hearted glare. "I mean, of course I love you." Kayla grinned and poked him in the ribs. He was dragged into a new broom shop that had just opened before the conversation could continue. The group split up for a little while, guys and girls separated. Kayla, Josie, and Lily occupied most of the clothing and jewelry shops and stopped into Madam Puddifoot's for a tea. Remus, Sirius, and James occupied Zonko's for most of their time and dropped into Honeyduke's before meeting back up with the girls at the Three Broomsticks.

The three boys were waiting for Kayla, Josie, and Lily when they arrived. They stood outside the door, joking and laughing. Sirius was testing out some of his new Zonko's items to the amusement of a group of third year girls. Remus looked over after seeing the girls out of the corner of his eye. Kayla noticed he was holding a small bag. She walked over to him and gave him a small kiss.

"Hello there. I got you something." he said with a smile. Kayla gave him a confused look.

"You did? What?" He held out the small bag and Kayla stuck her hand in. Her fingers hit the metal frame of a bird cage which she pulled out. Inside was a small wooden nightingale twittering on a swing. Kayla smiled widely. "You know I was joking earlier." She said, feeling kind of bad that he had bought her something. Remus smiled and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head.

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm a sucker." Kayla grinned up at him, putting the bird back in the bag.

"Well, thank you." she kissed him. "I love you."

Kayla broke from her thoughts and looked around her office. There was a cabinet in the corner that she hadn't used in the many years she had been teaching at the school. She stood up from her desk and walked over to the cabinet. The doors emitted a loud creak, the hinges stuck together from the lack of use, and looked up on one of the top shelves. Shoved in the back corner was a small birdcage. Inside was a bird sitting on a swing. She pulled it down and set it on her desk. The spell had long since worn off, and the bird didn't sing as it used to or turn its head to watch you walk around the room. A thin layer of dust sat on its back.

Kayla propped her head up on her hand and poked her wand through the bars of the cage, poking the swing to make it move. She watched the small bird swing back and forth for a short while when something caught her attention outside her window. Her heart skipped into overdrive as she saw a large black dog dragging Ron Weasley toward the Whomping Willow. She jumped from her chair and ran out of the office toward Remus's. She never made it, however, as she ran into him half way down the corridor.

"Did you see? Is it him?" she asked, slightly out of breath.

"Yes, on the map. Harry and Hermione are following them." he answered, also slightly short of breath.

"We have to go down there, Remus! He'll kill them!" she said. Remus nodded and took her hand, leading her toward the front hall. They exited the building, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. The Whomping Willow stood frozen in mid-swing, apparently having been hit by a Stunning Spell. The two climbed down through the passage, hands still clasped tightly together, wands raised. When they reached the inside of the Shrieking Shack, they could hear yelling coming from a room upstairs.

"Harry! He's an animagus!" came Ron's voice from down the stairs. Kayla felt her pulse racing, hearing the panic and fear in Ron's voice.

"Behind you, Harry!" came Hermione's shout. There was a creaking sound of a door closing and the shuffling of feet. Kayla and Remus darted up the stairs and threw the door open.

"Don't you go near them!" Kayla shouted, wand pointed directly at the ragged form of Sirius Black. Neither Kayla nor Remus had ever seen Sirius in such a state. His hair was long and matted and he was far thinner than they remembered him. His Azkaban robes hung from his body, apparently too big.

"Oh look who's decided to join the fun! My old friends!" his voice was maniacal, the raving sounds of a madman.

"Friends? I knew it! You've been helping him into the school! I should have outted you when I had the chance!" Hermione raged at Remus. Kayla opened her mouth to retort, but Remus raised his hand.

"What do you mean, Hermione?" he asked. Hermione seemed a bit put off by this, but took the chance to yet again be ahead of the class as Harry and Ron seemed to be completely lost.

"You're the one who's been helping Black into the school, trying to kill Harry! You're a werewolf!" Remus simply smiled and nodded.

"Kayla told me there were very clever students in my class. However, I'm afraid you're only right on one count. I haven't been helping anyone into the school who shouldn't be here and I don't want Harry killed." Kayla turned to look at him. "I wont deny that I am a werewolf." Kayla looked to see the students' reactions. Hermione seemed shocked that he had not denied this fact. Ron's face, if possible, became whiter than it was when they first arrived. Harry looked poised to kill. None said anything until Sirius broke the silence.

"Enough chit chat! Let's kill him!" He said to Remus. Kayla whipped her head around to Sirius, eyes wide.

"What?!" she nearly screamed. Remus nodded.

"Alright, but let's at least explain who we're killing and why." his voice was shockingly even considering the topic of conversation. "Harry, this man is not the one who betrayed your parents." Remus began to explain, motioning to Sirius. Harry, who still appeared ready to attack, let his guard down slightly at this news.

"What are you talking about? This is Sirius Black." He said as if the name bound him to murder.

"Yes, it is. He is not the man you think he is." There was a scurrying across the floor as a rat crawled out of Ron's pocket and attempted to escape out the open door. Combined spells from Remus and Sirius froze the rat in mid-step. As the four stared around at Black and Lupin, the rat began to grow larger, and less rat like. Suddenly, where the rat had been, a small man now cowered beneath a table, frozen on all fours.

"Evening, Wormtail! Lovely of you to join us!" Sirius said. Kayla put her hands over her mouth.

"Merlin…It was…The whole time!" she whimpered. The door to the room flew open and another person stepped into the room. Josie looked around at the strange group, paused at the small man under the table, before her eyes finally settled on Sirius. She grinned as if she had seen him every day for the last 12 years and pointed at him.

"I tried to tell them you were innocent." she said. Sirius seemed to come to life more at the sight of Josie than either Remus or Kayla. He smiled brightly at her.

"Stop!" Harry yelled, his face alight with rage. "Why do you keep saying he's innocent?! Who is he?!" Kayla dropped her hands at her side.

"He's your godfather, Harry." Harry's face contorted as if attempting to repel this relation.

"My godfather? He killed my parents!" Harry yelled. Remus let out an exasperated sigh.

"No. You haven't been listening. _That_ man is responsible for your parents' deaths!" He said, pointing at Peter Pettigrew under the table.

"You knew this? The whole time, Professor Lupin?" Hermione asked. Ron appeared to be losing blood from his broken leg faster by the minute.

" Not until I saw Peter's name on the map." He then turned to Sirius. "You were never James and Lily's Secret Keeper, were you?" Remus asked him. Sirius smiled.

"Dumbledore thought I'd be the first person Voldemort would look for." The three teachers picked up on the irony, now knowing that it had been Peter who betrayed the Potters. Harry swayed on the spot, slightly, attempting to understand the change an entire life's worth of history.

"So…You're my godfather, he killed my parents, and you're a werewolf?" He asked the four. They all nodded. "And you two weren't just in my parents' year, were you?" He asked Kayla and Josie, as Remus had never mentioned their role in James and Lily's life. Josie and Kayla shook their heads. There was a thump from beside them as Peter broke free of the spell and attempted to climb out from under the table and run.

"Hold it!" Sirius yelled, darting over to the door before Peter could reach it and holding his wand to Peter's throat. "Where do you think you're going? We still have the little matter of revenge to attend to." As if this were there cue, Remus, Josie, and Kayla all raised their wands simultaneously and pointed them at Peter. Hermione let out a small gasp. Ron whimpered slightly. Harry spoke.

"You can't kill him." he said simply. The rest turned to look at him.

"Why not? He deserves it!" Sirius barked back. Harry shook his head.

"My parents would not want their best friends to become murderers. Give him to the dementors, let them deal with him." Peter let out a whimper of fear, knowing only the dementor's kiss awaited him. "Besides, if he dies, the truth dies with him. Alive, you're a free man." Harry said to Sirius. They all agreed this was the right course for action. Kayla stepped around the group to temporarily bind Ron's wound and help him to his feet. Remus bound Peter in ropes from his shoulders to his wrists. Josie turned to Sirius and wrapped her arms around him, an embrace he only too gladly returned. They all filed out of the Shack and back down the passage.

Peter was first to emerge from the passage, followed by Remus, then Kayla and Hermione, helping Ron hobble along. Harry, Josie, and Sirius brought up the rear. When they all were out, they became aware that night had fallen. This fact was only emphasized by a loud yell of agony from the head of the group. Everyone whipped their heads around to see Remus contorting with pain. They all became painfully aware of the large, perfectly round, full moon hanging above the mountains.

"You three, back to the castle!" Sirius yelled. They stood paralyzed as Remus's body became less human and more wolf like by the minute. "GO!" he shouted. Kayla dropped Ron's weight on Hermione, which Harry picked up.

"GET GOING!" She shouted. The three started to hobble their way back toward the castle as fast as they could. Kayla made certain that Peter followed, paralyzing him and insisting that Harry bring him back to the castle as well. Josie and Kayla followed, backs to the castle, wands raised. Sirius stayed and transformed into the large black dog. Remus's transformation finished and where he once stood was now a large grey wolf. He whipped his head around and stared Sirius in the eyes. The two circled each other, poised to fight. Kayla and Josie both became aware that they had stopped walking, both praying that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had continued back to the castle.

Suddenly, Remus leapt at Sirius, their front legs locking and their mouths biting at any bit they could find. Kayla sensed Josie tense up and kept one eye on her, afraid that she might try and intervene. Remus overpowered Sirius and knocked him to the ground. It did little to stop the fight as Sirius immediately leapt to his feet and grabbed hold of the back of Remus's neck. Remus reared back, lifting Sirius into the air, and threw himself into a body slam, locking Sirius between himself and the ground.

"NO!" Josie yelled, dashing forward.

"JOSIE, NO!" Kayla yelled, running after her.

"STUPEFY!" Josie yelled, sending Remus soaring backwards. He hit the base of a tree and fell to the ground with a thud. Getting up, he staggered a moment and appeared to be limping away. Josie dashed over to Sirius's side, who had no transformed back into human form after being knocked unconscious. "Sirius! Sirius, wake up!" she sobbed. Kayla dropped to her side and attempted to pull her away.

"Josie, we can't stay here! It's not safe! We'll take Sirius back to the castle with -" But her words were cut off by the sound of charging foot steps behind them. She turned to see Remus bearing down upon them. Kayla attempted to Stun him, but her spell missed and in a reflexive move, she kicked her leg out, catching him across the head.

A sickening crunch, searing pain, and a warm flow of blood accompanied a scream of pain and horror from Kayla's lips. She hadn't been quick enough to pull her leg back and Remus had sunk his sharp fangs into her leg, shattering her shin bone and piercing her calf muscle. He gave a sharp tug as if attempting to rip her whole leg off. Kayla howled in pain. He was knocked aside, however, as Sirius had regained consciousness and tackled him from the side. Remus released Kayla's leg, tearing more of her skin, and rolled along the ground with Sirius. Josie jumped up and helped Kayla to her feet. They hurried back toward the castle before any more damage could be done to either one. Once inside, Kayla fainted from the pain.

Remus awoke the next morning somewhere in the Forbidden Forest. He was thankful to find that he was not too far in and started heading for the break in the trees. He heard a stirring a few feet away, however, and saw Sirius struggling to get up. He rushed to his side and helped him up. They didn't speak for a moment, until Sirius recalled what had happened last night. Remus looked down at himself, seeing he was covered in blood that was not his own.

"What happened?" He asked, almost not wanting the answer. Sirius's face dropped as a vivid image of Remus sinking his teeth deep into Kayla's flesh. There was no need for Sirius to explain, Remus recognized the look one gets when struck with extreme fear and sorrow. Remus ran up to the castle, ignoring the sharp pain in his leg, and burst through the double doors of the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey came bustling over from a bed where she was tending to Ron's leg.

"Oh, Professor Lupin, come in. I'll have you patched up -" Remus cut her off.

"Where is she?"

"Who?" Madam Pomfrey asked, taken aback at the urgency in his voice.

"Kayla! Where is she!?" Madam Pomfrey didn't seem to know who he meant.

"St. Mungo's, Professor." Came Hermione's voice from beside Ron's bed. Remus feared that his guess had been correct. He ran into Madam Pomfrey's office where there was a fireplace and a small dish of green powder.

After using the Floo Network, he arrived within seconds at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. There was a large map on a wall, and Remus spotted the floor for Creature Induced Injuries and ran for the stairs to the first floor. He finally reached the ward for bites and placed his hand on the door knob. His mind was dizzy with anticipation. Never in his life had he felt such a panic and dread. Slowly he turned the knob and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. He did not recognize the occupants of the four beds nearest to him and slowly ventured further into the room. The further he went, the more hopeful he became that Kayla wasn't in that room.

His heart sank into the pit of his stomach, however, when he reached the final bed in the ward. The curtains were slightly drawn around it and he could hear short, ragged breaths coming from the occupant. Pulling the curtains back slightly, he saw Kayla's face. Immediately he knew what he had done and hated himself for it. She was being forced to suffer at his hands yet again, and this time it would be permanent. He slumped down into the visitor chair beside her bed, pulling the curtains further around them. Kayla's eyes were closed, but her lids were heavy and dark, her skin was pale and beaded with sweat. As if sensing his presence there, Kayla drew in a sharp breath and rolled her head toward him, opening her eyes.

They locked eyes on each other, staring for a long time. Kayla had no strength for tears, but saw that Remus's eyes were beginning to glisten. "Don't blame yourself." she said, her voice weak.

"How? You're here because of me!" Remus said softly. Kayla inched her hand toward the edge of the bed, and Remus took it in his, holding it gently yet firmly.

"I don't blame you." Suddenly her body seemed to find the strength needed to summon tears. They began to flow from her eyes with no restraint. Remus didn't know what to say.

"I wont stay at Hogwarts." he said. Kayla didn't look away, but continued to stare into his eyes.

"You'll disappear again?" she asked. An unwelcome anger bubbled inside her stomach at the thought of Remus leaving her again at her time of greatest need.

"I can't stay, Kayla." he said. He didn't know how he could live with himself, seeing her every day, knowing that she would be joining him on the next full moon.

"If you leave me again, I will _never_ forgive you." her voice was weak and slipping, but was filled with anger.

"You couldn't possibly want to be with me after this." Remus said.

"You have no clue what I want." She spoke with a quiet intensity.

"It's not safe!" Remus said, tightening his grip unconsciously on her hand.

"Don't you remember, Remus? That morning after Dumbledore brought you back to me? What did I tell you?" Remus thought back to that morning, but remained silent. Kayla answered for him. "I will never stop loving you." Remus swallowed hard. She propped herself up on her elbow, and placed a hand on the back of his neck, pulling him weakly towards her. Their lips met for the first time in years. Remus didn't fight it and allowed this moment he had longed for wash over him. Kayla wrapped her arms around his neck and Remus wrapped his around her waist to support her. "Stay with me." she begged him. Feeling her against him, kissing her again, and made Remus realize he could never leave her. He would stay.


	29. Chapter 29

-1Remus sat at Kayla's bedside for the rest of the day, getting up for a tea a couple of times. Kayla slept most of the day, but he could see her condition improving. Remus had propped his feet up on the end of Kayla's bed, his head lolling back to sleep sometime after the sun had set. Just as he had drifted off to sleep, he heard the curtains drawn around them. Someone cleared their throat, shaking Remus from his sleep. He dropped his feet and looked around sleepily.

"Oh, Professor Dumbledore." He said, jumping to his feet. Dumbledore nodded his greeting and smiled.

"Evening, Professor. How's the patient doing?" He asked, looking down at Kayla, who was still fast asleep.

"Weak, but better. Professor, I didn't-" Remus began, but Dumbledore cut him off.

"Remus, if I had thought there was any possible way you would purposefully hurt anyone, I never would have allowed you in the school." He said calmly. Remus nodded and looked back down at Kayla, absentmindedly placing his hand on top of hers. "Of course you know that you are both welcome to stay on at the school." Dumbledore offered. Remus nodded.

"I can't speak for Kayla, but as for me…Too many people know about my condition, Professor. I don't think it would be wise of me to stay." There was silence for a moment before Remus spoke again. "What happened to Peter?" Dumbledore's expression changed from calm to disheartened.

"I'm afraid he escaped from Harry before they managed to get to the castle. He transformed and we were unable to find him. Sirius and Jocelyn have fled. I'm afraid it will be quite sometime before Sirius's name is cleared." Remus looked as though he were biting back an unpleasant response. He felt Kayla's hand twitch underneath his and looked down at her. Her eyelids twitched as her eyes rolled around inside. They fluttered open and as she opened her eyes, she focused on Dumbledore.

"Hello, Professor. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Dumbledore smiled down at her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. Kayla half shrugged.

"Just wonderful." she closed her eyes and rolled her head toward the wall, trying to wake herself up enough to carry a conversation. "Professor, would it be too much of an imposition to ask you to find someone to take over Charms lessons for a while?" she said, turning her head back toward the two men.

"Of course, I know just the man for the job. Although, I was just telling Remus, here, that you are both more than welcome to return to Hogwarts." Dumbledore smiled at her serenely. Kayla returned the smile as best she could, still feeling a bit weak.

"Thank you, Professor, but I think I'd like some time off." Professor Dumbledore smiled and nodded as if he were expecting this.

"Yes, I believe you have a few things to sort out. Will this leave of absence be permanent?" Kayla grinned.

"No, I don't think so. I'd miss the students too much." Kayla attempted to sit up a little to take a sip of water from a glass beside her bed.

"As would I. I'll be sure to tell your replacement not to get too comfortable, then. I must be off, I've got the small matter of an escaped convict and three missing teachers to attend to." And with that he gave the two a small bow and left. Remus took his seat beside Kayla's bed again, and she sat up fully.

"Taking time off? What for?" He asked.

"Well, this isn't exactly a small thing to get used to, is it? Besides, there's been some things I've missed out on over the last few years and I want to make up time." Kayla smiled and wrapped her fingers around his hand. Now that she had allowed herself to love him again, it became truly obvious to Kayla just how much she had missed Remus. A few moments later, the curtain around Kayla's bed was wrenched back again and a nurse came around the bed.

"Let's change those dressings." The nurse said sweetly. She lifted the end of Kayla's covers up, revealing her heavily bandaged leg. Remus's grip tightened on her hand as the nurse began unraveling the mess of bandages revealing a leg, discolored from the bites and bruised muscles, who's bones had been recently mended. "Nasty bite, that." The nurse commented, dabbing some purple liquid on the bite marks. "Really should make it illegal for werewolves to roam about. Nasty creatures if you ask me!" The nurse seemed to have forgotten that people bitten by werewolves became one themselves. She also had no idea that the werewolf responsible for that nasty bite was standing no more than two feet from her.

"Are you finished?" Kayla asked impatiently. The nurse took on an indignant expression and finished wrapping Kayla's leg. When she left, she pulled the curtains back around the two with unnecessary force. "She seemed lovely. We should have her for tea." Kayla said to Remus, who laughed. It suddenly occurred to Remus that since he'd be leaving Hogwarts, he had nowhere to live.

"You wouldn't happen to have a spare room, would you?" he asked. He assumed she'd say yes without a second thought.

"No." she responded simply. Remus's face went suddenly blank, too taken aback to react properly. Kayla grinned, seeing his reaction. "I live in a one bedroom flat, I simply have no room for an extra bed." She grinned to herself more broadly as the corners of Remus's mouth began to drop. "So I guess we have no choice but to share a bed." Remus caught on rather quickly and laughed a little bit.

"You really had me going there. I have to say, though, I quite like that idea." he smiled and leaned in to kiss her. Just as their lips met for the second time that night, there was a small tap at the window beside her bed. Remus glanced over and saw a tawny owl flapping its wings outside.

"Popular tonight, aren't I?" Kayla said as she leaned over and opened the window. The owl flew in and landed on the space of bed between Kayla's knees. Remus untied the letter attached to the owl's leg as Kayla offered the tired looking bird some water, which it sipped gratefully.

"It's from Josie." Remus said, handing the letter to Kayla. She read it aloud for them both to hear.

"_Dear Kayla,_

_I hope you are doing well. I'm sorry Sirius and I can't come and visit you, seeing as he's a wanted criminal and I'm harboring a fugitive." _Kayla let out a small laugh. "_I'm afraid we can't tell you where we are at the moment, but I hope you will keep in touch. I've been to see Hagrid, he will be taking over Care of Magical Creatures for me, he's perfect for the job and Dumbledore was very supportive of the decision. Tell Harry, Ron, and Hermione that Sirius and I are forever grateful for what they've done for Sirius. He may be on the run, but he is free. I've decided to stay with him, twelve years was quite long enough. Take care, Kayla, and I hope your condition doesn't give you too much trouble. All my best,_

_Josie_

_P.S. Write back and tell me if Remus stayed. If he hasn't, Sirius and I will find him." _

The post script was dotted with a small drawing of two small eyes, one of which winked back up at Kayla. She laughed a little and showed this to Remus, who grinned. Remus set the letter beside Kayla's bed and propped his feet up again. Kayla laid back down and rolled over so she was facing Remus and soon both were fast asleep.

Over the next few days, the nurses and doctors were able to heal Kayla's bite marks until nothing remained except a ring of puncture shaped scars that wrapped around her leg. She was able to leave the hospital without so much as a crutch to support her. The two Apparated inside Kayla's apartment to find that Remus's things had already been transported there.

"Clever man, Dumbledore." Kayla said. "Shall I show you to our room?" Kayla asked with a smile. Remus eyed her momentarily.

"You know where it is, I hope." he said. Kayla glared at him playfully.

"You seem to be mistaking me with you, Mr. Lupin." She said with a grin. Remus pointed a finger at her and gave her a very stern look.

"That's _Professor _Lupin, thanks!" Kayla turned to walk down the hall leading to the bedroom, looking back at him over her shoulder, her eyebrows raised.

"Not anymore, it isn't." Remus glared at her playfully and followed her down the hall. Kayla's room was simple. The head of a queen sized bed was set flush against the wall beneath a window which was covered with a deep green curtain. There was one nightstand beside the bed (Remus took this to mean Kayla slept on that side) and a closet with a wooden door and metal handle. The room was lit by candles that floated weightlessly in the corners of the room near the ceiling, which cast a soft, warm orangey glow across the furniture. The room gave off a soothing, home like feeling. Though this was Kayla's home, she had never felt quite as comfortable there as she did now. "Those can go anywhere you like." Remus magicked his bags to a far corner of the room where they stacked themselves neatly.

A few moments of silence passed between the two as they stared around the room, casting several furtive glances toward the bed, wondering if the other had noticed.

"Would you like something to drink?" Kayla asked. Remus finally settled his gaze on her face, her skin glowing in the light of the candles, her eyes reflecting the dancing flame hovering near the ceiling behind him. He gave Kayla no verbal answer to her question. Instead, he took the few small steps to close the gap between them, wrapping a firm yet soft grip around her waist, pulling Kayla into a deep, deep kiss. Kayla returned it, wrapping her arms around his neck and turning her body, take a few large strides back toward the bed where they both toppled over on it. That night, nearly 13 years of longing was released.


End file.
